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Employer

The gates opened, and a huge large group of merchants left Emon City. All sorts of flags flew, with over five middle-scale groups and tens of other small ones in the caravan. There were also too many independent merchants to count.

The group was like a museum for the races of the World of Gods. Humans, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, half-elves, and many other half-bloods mingled, leaving Leylin's mind blown.

There were a lot of Professionals amongst the mercenaries, but there wasn't a single leading commander so everything looked chaotic with all sorts of people mixed in. Leylin saw a few dwarves riding wild boars running past him while hiccuping. He was rendered speechless.

'There are even more races than the types of pirates I'm in charge of… The Professionals are all a mess…' These mercenaries allowed Leylin to have a better understand of the Professions in the World of Gods.

From the most common warriors, thieves, squires, and assassins to the higher-grade knights, gunmen and archers, Leylin could also see some low-ranked bloodline holders as well as druids. They were attached to those large mercenary groups and were employed by the medium-ranked merchant groups.

As for the weak group that Leylin was a part of, they were employed by a small merchant group with no other choice. With their route interrupted, not being able to drop their goods off was one thing, but the terrifying fines of violating contracts was enough to render their families bankrupt.

In this world with deities, those protected by the gods could have their church dispatch priests and paladins to demand payment, and even the king would not dare renege on a debt. Waukeen loved doing this with her wealthy church, and of course the fee was very high.

Hence, under the threat of going bankrupt, these merchants had no choice but to force themselves onto a path blocked by ogres.

However, they were no fools. They issued a few large missions, and recruited enough mercenaries and helpers to form a huge caravan. This have them enough strength to protect themselves.

However, Leylin had his doubts about the strength of these low-ranked Professionals. They were destined to be cannon fodder!

"Everyone of the Night Halls, I entrust the fates of me and my sister to you!" Before they left, their employers had come to see them personally. It was a pair of noblewomen who seemed like sisters.

"Haha… Don't worry, *hic* … With Old Pam around, those darned ogres will die as they come!" The leader of this little group, at least in name, made his promise while patting his chest. This hiccuping dwarf with a red brandy nose was called Pam. He was a rare gunslinger, though the butt of the gun at his waist was already filled with rust. Leylin felt like the firearm was just scrap metal at this point, only useful as a hammer in close combat.

Leylin hadn'e even remembered all his 'teammates' here yet.

'Besides that inferior dwarf gunman Pam, there's a halfling thief, a human archer and me, a warrior. This is really the worst of the worst. We only met yesterday through the attendant at the Mercenary Guild… These sisters were obviously made a fool of by that attendant…'

Leylin never expected for there to be fraud organisations like this in the World of Gods, established temporarily to trick customers. Still, he had no intentions of changing anything.

'Though they tried to swindle people, the bit of commission you paid got you a rank 10 wizard. You've really made a huge profit!' he thought inside.

At this moment, the noble lady in the horse carriage sighed, knowing that she had dug a hole for herself.

"Everyone…" The hanging curtain in the carriage was pulled to reveal the corner of a beautiful face. She looked to be about 25 or 26, more mature than most young women. However, one could see sorrow from her furrowed brows, as if she had some doubts.

"In order to ensure the safety on this trip, I've especially invited an adventurer! She is a high-ranked knight, and I'm sure she'll get along well with everyone!" The noblewoman looked apologetic, but the person who paid money was the leader here. Pam, knowing how much weight the Night Halls carried, only mumbled a little but agreed.

"A new adventurer? And a high-ranked knight at that. It's… her?" Leylin suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Sorry that I'm late, Sister Hera!" A black warhorse streaked through the gates of the city like lightning, and the tender voice of a female could be heard from the knight on her mount.

"Rafiniya!" Hera, who was inside the horse carriage, revealed a tender smile that caused Old Pam and the rest to look dazed.

The knight quickly arrived at the carriage and flipped over to get off the horse, revealing a face that Leylin was exceptionally familiar with.

"Sister Hera!" Rafiniya first pulled at Hera's hand enthusiastically, and then looked at the mercenaries nearby.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Rafiniya, and we're going to adventure together— huh…"

Halfway through introducing herself, Rafiniya abruptly stopped, eyes widening. "Ley, you bastard, you actually cheated me!"

The tender voice of a young girl, as well as her appearance, made it easy for people to have misconceptions. The dwarf Pam discreetly gave Leylin a look of approval, while the human archer seemed envious.

"I didn't, you're just a person with a poor sense of direction!" Leylin touched his nose and rolled his eyes, not feeling like speaking to this girl who was directionally challenged.

"Who did you say has a poor sense of direction?" Rafiniya was immediately like a kitten who'd had her tail stepped on. She burst out in anger.

"Do you know each other? That's even better! Come here, Rafiniya. Tell me about what happened yesterday…" Hera came to mediate, and it was evident that she was very tactful.

"But…" Leylin focused on Hera's hands. They were rough, and there even calluses at the side. They were much like the hands of the maids in Leylin's manor, and her clothes were rather simple. The edges were slightly whitened. It was obvious that she did not have a good family background, but had employed Leylin and the others in the name of a noble.

'A noble born of a commoner? Or does she have a more troublesome identity? Did she get Rafiniya because she seemed to have a great status? She's quite shrewd…' Leylin watched Rafiniya enter the carriage, and the sounds of laughter could be heard once in a while. He shook his head inside.

He did not discriminate against Hera. All methods were valid when one's survival was at stake. As long as it didn't affect him, he wouldn't bother unveiling her plot.

"Tsk! Ley, look at that warhorse! It's even taller than the two of us. I'll bet you that this horse has a value of at least 200 Gold kronas!"

Old Pam was now demoted to a horsekeeper and was gloomy. He temporarily took care of Rafiniya's horse on her behalf. The sight of a dwarf leading a tall horse was rather amusing, though the man himself did not realise this. His hands kept caressing the black horse while muttering, "A pity… What a pity… Look at how she's abused this good horse! This colour of the coat and the abrasions would make those horse peddlers reduce their prices…"

"Please, she's a lady of a noble family and didn't even bring a horsekeeper when she came out. It's already good enough that she didn't starve it to death…" Leylin laughed as he patted Pam's shoulders, which gained the man's approval.

"Mm, mm," Pam kept nodding, "I'm not bragging, but my father's father was once a horsekeeper for the city owner. He was able to raise even the best warhorses with heavenly bloodlines till they were plump and healthy…"

"That doesn't seem right…" Leylin was speechless as he shook his head. Dwarves usually liked to brag, not to mention those that had taken alcohol.

At this moment, a gold krona was thrown from the window and hit Pam's head.

"Take care of this horse and it's yours!" Golden rays shone in Pam's eyes, and he didn't even get mad, "No problem at all! Old Pam will help you take care of this treasure, esteemed lady!"

'Inexperienced.' This was Leylin's evaluation of Rafiniya. There had been many eyes fixed on her horse, and after seeing the gold krona she had casually tossed away, those gazes turned to greed and malice.

Even the halfling thief and the human archers had changed expressions now, they were up to no good.

They were all mercenaries who'd banded together for now. Why would they trust each other? On dangerous roads, they could easily become robbers and bandits.

'Even if Rafiniya's a rank 10 knight, she won't be able to evade the plots against her.' Leylin could practically predict the fates of these three noble ladies.

'Ogres are the best cover. As long as someone's careful, they can push the blame to the devils. After all, would they actually contend with those ogres?' Leylin took a look at his surroundings. The merchant groups had mostly gathered, though the people in charge of a few medium-sized groups had no intentions of leaving, as if waiting for some important people.

'Could they have banded together and recruited a high-ranked Professional?' Just as Leylin was wondering, an elite team appeared from Emon City. The leader was a middle-aged man wearing shining armour, a resolute expression on his face. Under his thick eyebrows were a pair of radiant eyes.

Behind him, a pale eagle flag fluttered in the wind.

Ashen Hawks

"It's Lord Siegfried of the Ashen Hawks!"

"With him around, Old Pam's at ease now!" The dwarf Pam exclaimed excitedly.

'Powerful' was Leylin's first impression of the man. Siegfried was at or above rank 15, and there were even energy traces from magic items on his person. That wasn't all; the members behind him were the cream of the crop as well, and Leylin even spotted a wizard among them.

While she was clad in black wizard robes, that unique spiritual temperament could not deceive Leylin. However, she did not seem to have a high rank and had only made contact with the third level of the Weave.

Seeing the mercenary group of the Ashen Hawks meet with the medium-scaled merchant groups, as well as the subsequent signal they set off, Leylin asked by Pam's side, Is that Siegfried very powerful?"

"But of course. Lord Siegfried is the only mithril mercenary in Emon City! Mithril, you know? On top of that, he's a high-ranked warrior who's gone through numerous battles. Our city hall even invited him to take charge of the garrison, but he rejected them…" At the very mention of Siegfried, Old Pam talked non-stop, as if he himself was a member of the Ashen Hawks.

The Hawks had a huge reputation, and it resulted in an uproar amongst the large merchant groups. Be it the mercenaries or merchants, all of them had delighted looks on their face, as if just having them around meant their safety was guaranteed.

'Yet another bunch of tragic people who place their safety in the hands of others…' Seeing this, Leylin sighed inside, 'No matter how powerful he is, he'll definitely be protecting the few medium-sized merchant groups that hired him first and foremost. How could he stay by your side like Pam would? There are over a hundred ogres…'

While some were still immersed in their fantasies, the mixed bag of people set off.

'How boring…' Leylin was now dressed like a fighter, armoured in moderately new leather. At his waist was a longsword made of steel, the grip wound with coarse rope that allowed him to unsheath it smoothly at any time.

The large caravan moved very slowly. Apart from the leadership problems, food, water, and camping at night were huge issues for them. Even proper legions couldn't manage such a thing well, forget this ragtag group. Sometimes they didn't even make it past a few kilometres a day.

Leylin had already expected this, and he stayed in his group while at ease. With so many people present, he would only be used as cannon fodder to bait the ogres out if they ended up meeting. That would allow him to escape successfully.

He'd already made up his mind. Once he passed the danger of the ogres, he'd immediately leave this large group and proceed on his own. As for the matter of the commission and trust, would he even care?

Leylin thus had nothing going on for now. He'd made a deal with a merchant for one silver, and was allowed on one of the carriages. Besides his requisite patrolling duties, the only things he did were resting, meditation, and secret research.

'A.I. Chip, show me my current stats!' Leylin commanded.

[Leylin Faulen. Age: 16. Race: Human, Rank 10 Wizard. Strength: 5.2. Agility: 6.5. Vitality: 6.3. Spirit: 10. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite. Spell Slots: Rank 4(3), Rank 3(5), Rank 2(7), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)] [Analysis of the Weave: Level 0 100%, Level 1 100%, Level 2 37.31%, Level 3 16.78%, Level 4 2.01%.] The A.I. Chip loyally carried out his orders.

'My spiritual force is greatly disproportionate to the time I've spent meditating. With the reduced effect of the Devilblood Dagger, I can't advance so easily anymore. I can only try to raise my other stats to 10 points…'

In Leylin's view, raising of his other stats was a process of perfecting his own genes. Once they all broke past a certain limit, they could give him a pleasant surprise.

Leylin took a quick look at his stats and shifted his attention to the Weave's analysis, his most important work.

'Slow as ever…' Leylin could do nothing about this. The Weave was under Mystra's control, and she was a powerful goddess. The A.I. Chip analysing the Weave already went against the will of the gods. He couldn't do much without alerting her.

'The speed's decreased after it started on level 2. It would be unnoticeable if not for my increase in rank… Perhaps I should use another method…' Just as Leylin was pondering over what he should do, an unwelcome guest opened the door of the truck.

"Sister Hera has already explained everything to me. I'm sorry!" Just from the voice, Leylin could tell that this was Rafiniya and he opened his eyes. Even in the darkness of the truck, he could see her flushed face.

"I accept your apology. Are we done now?" Leylin gestured for her to leave.

"How can you do this?" Rafiniya's embarrassed face reddened further, but this time in fury, "I'm here to apologise to you, yet you're acting so rudely? Besides… Pam and the others are…"

"I've done my tasks for the day. Pam and the others are just unwilling to put in the effort… Also…" Leylin stood up. Just the natural elegance in his movements caused the knight to shrink backwards in retreat, as if she'd her own father in his fury.

"Also… who is it that keeps staying in the employer's carriage? And who keeps evading patrol duty?" Leylin's eyes rested on Rafiniya, causing the knight to lower her head. At this moment, she realised that this Ley indeed was doing his duty unlike her.

"That– That's different! I'm a girl!" Rafiniya stomped her foot, "Who knew travelling was so tedious? There's grime everywhere, and nowhere to even walk on. It's even harder to find a washroom…"

Her subconscious thoughts were poured out in front of Leylin. Noticing his half-smile, she couldn't help but go beet red and lower her head.

"So now you know the hardships of travelling? Don't be fooled by the glamour of heroes on the surface. In truth, they could be suffering more than you… Go home, little lady!" Leylin rarely showed kindness such as this. He only did it because all it required was for him to speak a bit.

"You sound like you know a lot, but do you really?" Rafiniya turned and left, as if she had gotten used to and annoyed by these lectures. Leylin only sighed, "Rebellious children…"

The days passed, and the ragtag group got closer to the region rumoured to have ogres around. They hadn't met trouble before this, their numbers enough to scare off vagrants and those with malicious intent. Within the group however, the bandit Professionals had bad luck. No matter where they went, they were watched vigilantly.

When it came time to camp, they did it on a flat field. Numerous mercenaries constructed lofty tents and lit bonfires. Hot water was then poured into pots; with the addition of their rations, some wild vegetables that a few older mercenaries found outside the camp, and jerky, it was cooked into a savoury stew.

Pam hugged his rum bottle while salivating at the pot, occasionally taking a drink.

"Everyone's worked hard today!" Hera and Rafiniya got off the horse carriage, and the mercenaries of the Night Halls sat around the bonfire.

After spending some time together, Leylin now had another opinion regarding Hera. While she was a slight schemer, it was because of her living conditions. She did not regard herself to be much better than those mercenaries who were working hard.

With his experience, Leylin could naturally tell if she was sincere or putting on a front. Her younger sister seemed to be called Yalani, and was protected well by her sister. She spent most of her time on the carriage, and even Leylin had only seen her a few times before. That meant Hera was aware of the dangers outside.

After Hera brought the dinner that had just been made back to the carriage, Old Pam impatiently drank his rum and began to chatter on.

However, in the long chilly night, there was little to while the time away. Hence, the other members approved of it tacitly. Rafiniya especially seemed to have fun, and probably even took Old Pam's stories to be true.

"Hello. May I know if this is Lady Hera's carriage?" At this moment, a person in charge of one of the merchant groups walked over.

"What is it? Please tell me!" Rafiniya blocked the way. Days before, there were a few guys who were lusting over the beauty of the sisters. She'd kicked them out, but she was now on her huard.

The person in charge who had been rejected frowned, but then put on a smile, "Well, we're reaching the dangerous regions where the ogres appear. Lord Siegfried told me to come inform everyone to remain vigilant at night. Remember to send people to patrol the area…"

Lorent

Once they sent the man away, the mercenaries all had imposing expressions on their faces. Only Rafiniya was cheerful as she took out her sword with an eager look on her face, "We finally get to fight?"

This expression of hers immediately attracted displeasure from her comrades. "In that case, you can be the first to go on patrol tonight!" Leylin unceremoniously dealt her a blow, damping her energy. Old Pam didn't dare to say anything, but he secretly gave Leylin a big thumbs up.

Seeing Rafiniya huffing angrily and ducking back into the carriage, Leylin and the others smiled in a carefree manner. Only, Leylin's smile was rather dark as he turned back to look at where Rafiniya had gone to.

'This… It feels like something might have happened…'

...

At the moment, another special group entered Emon City. Their leader was a paladin in bright silver armour, the piercing light of which caused the city guards at the gate to inch away from them. Their faces were filled with reverence and awe as they looked at the divine light on the paladin's chest.

"Our intel says that they vanished without a trace once they went ashore." His badge was based on a blue shield, with a warhammer balanced on top of a scale as the insignia. A holy light lingered about it.

"A paladin of the God of Justice!" Someone would call out in a low voice from time to time, and the street thugs and hooligans all completely disappeared without a trace.

The divine light that this paladin possessed was of course that of the God of Judgment, Tyr. That god possessed powerful divine force and was committed to his cause of fighting against evil. The zealous paladins under his command were the greatest nightmare of all evil organisations.

"Leylin Faulen… This insignificant little noble must be in cahoots with that earlier Pirates' Tide. He can't run from us!" The paladin had a resolute expression on his face, "Under the divine glory of our lord, all evil must be punished!"

"Paladin Lorent! Do not forget the teachings of our God. Without a trial, that person still has the status of an aristocrat, so please watch your words and manners!" An old priest warned from behind the paladin.

The God of Justice's priests were serious about punishing evil as well, but unlike the radical paladins they knew that the world wasn't black and white. They had learnt to compromise, which was the only reason that Tyr's church had survived to this point. This priest's eyes were filled with sorrow, but they were soon flooded with determination.

"Only… The lives of thousands of civilians on the outer seas, as well as the disappearance of tens of thousands of innocents must be answered for. He must cooperate with our investigation. The God of Justice will never let an evil man off, and neither will he misjudge an innocent person!"

"Praise the Lord!" Several high-ranking members of the church began to pray from behind the priest.

This was an investigation team that'd been sent by Tyr to the outer seas of the Dambrath Kingdom. There were several high-ranking paladins and priests in their numbers, and once they reached the outer seas they were shocked by the atrocities committed by those evil pirates.

When the Pirates' Tide spread its sails, it almost destroyed the entire Baltic archipelago. Only a few small noble fiefs managed to escape the purge unharmed. Since the pirates took no prisoners and left none alive, it had been very difficult to gather evidence.

After passing through many obstacles, just when they had finally almost pinned their culprit as the Pirate Cove and Scarlet Tiger pirate crew, they discovered a small noble family who seemed to have played a very important role.

The unstoppable investigation team immediately arrived at Faulen Island, only to be told the news that Leylin had long since left.

In desperation, the investigation team could only divide into two groups and continue to investigate the outer seas. They proclaimed the doctrine of the God of Justice, and the group immediately went back to the continent to apparently request Leylin to cooperate with their investigation.

In reality, once they were within the grasp of these paladins, even the most cunning of nobles could not live for more than a day! The priests of Tyr did not lack in divine torture spells that could force their target to surrender. Sometimes, even a simple 'Detect Alignment' was able to solve many problems.

In the presence of powerful gods, the minor nobles who were caught with evidence did not have any power to resist. In turn, if there was no evidence, even high-ranking bishops could not directly put a noble on trial.

Leylin had long broken off the relationship between Faulen Island and the Scarlet Tigers, so unless they could catch him the investigation team could not take any measures against Baron Jonas and their fief. He'd taken care of this before deciding to travel abroad.

"Damn… These nobles ignore the suffering of so many civilians, and instigate one disaster after the other…" A female priest said resentfully.

"Be cautious!" Although the paladin thought the same thing, on the surface he still restrained his female companion's actions.

The spread of faith in the prime material plane did not curb the power of secular loyalty. It caused the churches a lot of frustration.

"We cannot completely cleanse the world of all its filth, but we can continue to judge every sin we see. Ultimately the world will be purified" The paladin Lorent said strongly, "Raphael, notify the town hall that we need their help, as well ast those left behind…"

After several days, Lorent and his party were able to find several of Leylin's suspected identities.

"This one can also be ruled out!" Within a splendid and opulent mansion, many guards were left sprawled in confusion on the ground, including several strong Professionals. The paladin Lorent regretfully put down a pale-faced young noble who was trembling all over in fear.

"However, he has also committed numerous crimes. He's promoted imprisonment, murder, corruption, and countless other things. Hand him over and have the town hall dispose of him!" The female priest. Raphael, glared with disgust at the trembling young noble, as if she had seen a maggot. Allowing this maggot to continue living was almost like an insult to her god.

Although she dearly wanted to directly kill the noble, she managed to endure it.

"Those mercenaries are so mobile that it is very difficult to distinguish between them in such a short period of time even with our capabilities. However, the larger merchant groups in recent times are very suspicious!"

"I was thinking the same thing." Lorent turned and left, leaving behind a scene of disorder, "We have already tarried here for far too long, we must speed up…"

After a short while, the newly gathered investigation group strolled out of the gate of Emon City. The rest of the city officials and nobles watched them from far away as they breathed a sigh of relief, wry smiles on their faces.

The investigation group left, but they'd swept up a lord, two nights, and an extremely unlucky noble by pure coincidence during their stay. Even the various gangs had been exterminated. Emon City had been cleansed, and was now much more safe. However, they had left behind a huge mess.

...

'Is this feeling of being chased because of that investigation group from the God of Justice? Looking at the time, they should have arrived at Emon City by now…' His keen perception and meticulous way of thinking let Leylin guess the truth in just a moment.

'Tyr… Haha, in the eyes of many nobles, this powerful god is not at all inferior to the God of Plague…' Leylin laughed coldly to himself, 'However, if I do not become a high-ranking wizard and build a wizard's tower, I fear I won't be able to return to Faulen Island.'

The situation was more dire this time. If Leylin's father was like the Marquis, or even a noble of the kingdom, he wouldn't be suppressed like this. However, the Faulen Family pitifully didn't have such a background. As a result, were they to be caught by the investigative team it would spell disaster for them. The paladins of the God of Justice were not harmless vegetarians.

Naturally, even the God of Justice's most resolute paladins had to learn to compromise, and once Leylin displayed his greater power and strength, showing that their reward was not worth the efforts, it would not be impossible to erase this matter.

'No! I just need to let Dambrath Kingdom's officials handle it, then this entire matter will not concern me,' Leylin's eyes shone brightly, 'Even the God of Justice's priests need to pay attention to evidence. It looks there are still many more things for me to do in the kingdom…'

Of course all of this was based on the fact that Leylin would remain a noble wizard, and his crimes wouldn't be exposed. If he was thought of as an invader from another world, or a believer in devils, then he would be endlessly pursued by all the gods, and all the kingdoms on the continent would unite against him.

'Interesting, it really is interesting!' Leylin's original plan was to leave Faulen Island to train after his work there had been completed, rapidly advancing in rank until he became a god, and finally linking up with his original body.

He was still following that plan, and the Faulen Family was developing rapidly. Although the investigative group was troublesome, he could still resolve that issue.

"Be careful! The footprints of an ogre have been discovered ahead!" At this moment, news came from the carriage in front of them, stirring up the entire merchant group.

After they had entered the region, Leylin could not continue to hide and be lazy. He had to fulfill his duty as a mercenary, accompanying his employer's carriage to protect it. Through the carriage's gauzy curtain, he could see two similarly frightened pretty faces.

Ogre

"It's alright, the mercenaries will protect us!" Hera kissed her sister's forehead, which helped Yalani calm down.

"I'll go and take a look!" Rafaniya had already gotten off the carriage and put on her knight's armour and steel gloves. The warhorse she sat on let out a snarl, rushing to the front of the group.

The horse had showered Pam's head and face with dust, and he hadn't managed to dodge in time. Even his beard had been filled with pebbles, the comedic performance causing the girls in the carriage to laugh quietly. Hera's stern eyes seemed to have softened.

"These little bitches are really… Phooey…" Old Pam spat out the sand in his mouth, his hand going to his gun case. He'd polished most of the rust off, and it now smelt of gunpowder. Leylin still believed that it wouldn't be as useful as a hammer in melee, though.

Leylin was sceptical as to whether this dwarf, who had not even reached rank 5, was brave enough to fight against a high-ranking knight with his life, Although dirtying their beard was a very serious insult for some dwarves, Old Pam seemed to have assimilated into human society, and become crafty and sly.

Or perhaps it could be said that after working with humans extensively, he had learnt to be cowardly and picked up a few bad habits. Naturally, the dwarf would perhaps not agree with this assessment.

Leylin could not detect the slightest trace of a dwarf's stubborn and tenacious temper from Old Pam. When Rafiniya flew back like the wind, he was already eagerly leading her warhorse along for her and even received a silver krona as a tip.

It must be said that Old Pam could indeed look after warhorses well. Over the past few days, Rafaniya's originally malnourished mount now looked very energetic. The noblewoman had already expressed the desire to hire the dwarf as her personal horsekeeper, and Old Pam looked rather satisfied with this arrangement.

"What's happening up ahead?" Leylin did not particularly care about Old Pam's future career, and immediately asked about the state of affairs in front of them.

"A few scouts and thieves have reported that they've discovered the footprints of an ogre. The imprints are fairly fresh, and it looks like it was just half an hourglass ago. We should be ready to get into a fight at any time…"

After hearing Rafiniya's statement, all the mercenaries immediately grew nervous. The halfling thief and the human archer couldn't help but grip their weapons more tightly.

Pam involuntarily began to inch closer to Rafiniya's side. On the whole, this young lady was the most powerful deterrence in their entire group. Since danger had befallen them, she could adapt the fastest and had the highest chance of escaping.

"Well, Rafiniya, you will protect me, won't you?" Old Pam looked at Rafiniya hopefully.

"Are you not a mercenary?" The young lady had always been completely disdainful towards soft-boned cowards like him.

"Heavens… Do it for Nick's sake, you can't treat your horsekeeper like this. Pitiful Old Pam will be torn to pieces by the ogre, and who would look after your Nick then?" Old Pam's tears were about to overflow from his eyes, and he clung to Rafiniya's legs with all his might.

Nick was the name that Old Pam had given to Rafiniya's warhorse in passing.

"Very well, very well! It's a knight's duty to protect the weak!" Rafiniya was rather scared of the expression on his face.

"Oh! I admire you, great knight…" Pam immediately started to babble without stopping.

"However, your pay as my horsekeeper will be cut in half!" Rafiniya had learnt a lot after travelling with them, and could even haggle over prices now.

"Out of the question, the most is 10%!"

"40%! You think I can't find any other horsekeepers? My family has a dozen!"

"30%! You can't lower it by any more, otherwise Old Pam can't even afford to drink watered-down rum!"

"Deal!" The lady knight was still rather young and inexperienced when all was said and done. She had retreated in defeat under the dwarf's pitiful tactics, and Leylin could not help but find it funny.

Just at this moment, a dismal cry came from the front. "Ogre! The ogre is here!"

"Stay alert!" "Stand guard!" Leylin took out his steel sword in a flash, his vigilant eyes attentively watching the uproar in front of him.

Aside from the cacophony of human voices, the sounds of strange roars and clashing weapons now sounded out.

"The ogres have really appeared!" The halfling in the squad immediately took out his dagger and hid in the shadowy corners of the carriage. The human archer climbed on top of the carriage to find somewhere suitable for himself, and his wooden bow that he usually carried on his back was now grasped in his hand.

"Ogres? I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Rafiniya excitedly got up and reined in her horse, immediately changing direction.

"Wait, I'll come with you!" She heard a man's voice come from behind her and her eyes widened in response. "When did you come?"

No one knew when Leylin had mounted the warhorse and sat behind Rafiniya. To this high-ranked knight, this was completely unimaginable.

A knight and her horse were meant to be one entity, and being approached like this without even noticing was very dangerous if the man had malicious intent. Rafiniya's heart turned icy, and the attitude of the man seated behind her back made it difficult for her to bear.

"Perhaps you should be a thief instead! Get down immediately, Nick won't like this at all!" At this point, the closeness of their bodies was rather strange, and Rafiniya began to lightly blush in response.

"Be a good girl, let's go!"

"I'm not a child!" Rafiniya protested weakly, but Nick bolted out like a black whirlwind beneath them.

At this moment, Rafiniya revealed her superb horsemanship. Even in the situation where she had someone riding behind her back, she passed through the chaotic troops and obstacles to make her way to the front of the caravan.

Many carriages were in retreat, and several mercenary groups were already brandishing their swords and bows in a semicircle.

Standing across the defensive troops were a group of enormous monsters, with fewer than 20 amongst their numbers.

"Are these ogres? This is the first time I'm seeing them!" Rafiniya curiously peered at the monsters in front of them.

The very first ogre was nearly 3 metres tall, with the torso of a man. It looked like an obese fatty, with dark-grey skin, a thick neck, greasy matted hair and vile sarcomas all over its body. There was a wide and flat nose under its beast-like eyes and it had exposed its jutting black teeth, making it look as malevolent as a devil.

The one standing at the very front was the chief of this group of ogres. It wore simple tanned animal skin around its waist. The other ogres were completely in the nude, everything flopping about.

"It smells awful!" Just over a dozen metres away, a putrid stench directly assaulted her nostrils, making Rafiniya involuntarily cover her nose.

"Not bad! It looks very similar to the image in the illustrated handbook of ogres, only we haven't seen its different variations such as the two-headed ogre and the ogre shaman…" Leylin now sized up the ogres opposite him, his blue eyes shining brightly for reasons that an ordinary person would find difficult to accept.

'A.I. Chip, scan the ogre's stats!'

[Beep! Initiating mission, beginning scan… Data is being collected, generating graphics!] The A.I. Chip loyally executed Leylin's command.

In a short space of time, a hologram of an ogre was projected before Leylin, along with detailed information about its stats.

[Name: Unknown, Race: Ogre, Gender: Male, Strength: 7, Agility: 3, Vitality: 10, Spirit: 1. Feats: Regeneration: Ogres possess extraordinary regenerative abilities, and can survive for a very long period of time even if they have their heads cut off. 2. Armour Skin: The grease on an ogre's skin mixes with dirt to become a separate layer of natural defense, its effects are comparable to normal leather armour, with no resistance to magic.]

'These stats are comparable to an average rank 7 or rank 8 fighter, and it's only an ordinary ogre…'

'In addition, these ogres have powerful constitutions, and terrifying regenerative capabilities. The cells in their body must be much more active than in ordinary people, and if the Devilblood Dagger can absorb it, then perhaps it could raise my vitality by 2 or 3 points, reaching the 10 point bottleneck!' Leylin was now looking at these ogres like they were an enormous treasure chest.

Even by the most conservative estimates, this ogre tribe could raise his vitality by 1 or 2 points; it was equivalent to being blessed by the grace of a low-ranking god.

However, Leylin simply did not dare to provoke such a huge group of ogres by himself. He even needed to rely on the others for protection before he was certain he could pass through this region safely.

However, the large caravan group was currently pit against the ogres, and Leylin saw his chance.

"It's just a scattered group of ogres, no need to worry!" At this moment, members of the Ashen Hawks rushed over, led by the impressive high-ranking fighter Siegfried who Leylin had previously met.

Seeing that there were fewer than 20 ogres against them, Siegfried's expression relaxed.

"There aren't any shamans. There's few enough that the other mercenaries and carriages can gain experience from it. It won't be as frightening in our next encounter then…" Siegfried was fully aware that if the strengths of their large caravan group could be united, then it would not be a problem at all for them to pass through this region.

However, humans were often knocked down by their fear of the unknown, especially when these ogres had such a frightening reputation in the rumours. It made it much easier to trigger collective panic, and that would be even more devastating to them than a tsunami!

As a result, it was very important to let these cowardly merchants know about these ogres in advance.

First Fight

"The Ashen Hawks will keep everything under control in the rear. The rest of you, advance!" Siegfried reined in his horse and allowed his members to form a defensive line behind him.

"The reward for beheading them and the contributions and monetary reward from the mercenary guild will all be yours!" Siegfried was deeply aware of the weak points of humanity, and was shrewd and ruthless enough to immediately throw out more bait to entice the others.

Several medium sized mercenary groups immediately began to desire it, but before they could discuss their decision more, the ogres across from them could not wait any longer.

"Ow ow!" The ogre who stood at the very front threw its ferocious mouth wide open like a beast and let out a terrifying roar, the unknown animal bone it gripped in its hand becoming a huge club that swept across like a fierce gale.

*Bang!* The bone club pounded at the shields of the Shield Fighters at the very front, and a dull sound could be heard. Several mercenaries immediately collapsed, their arms snapping loudly.

The general strength of an ogre was around 5 or 7 points, equal to the strength of an elite rank 5 fighter. It was something that ordinary mercenaries simply could not contend against.

As if responding to their chieftain's roar, the ogres behind him brandished their enormous clubs and hammers, or even raised their bare fists to throw themselves at the mercenaries. Several medium sized mercenary groups had their frontlines collapse immediately, and their leaders shouted commands to no avail. Everyone could tell that Siegfried's expression grew dark.

'The data and attributes of this world do not exactly follow the superposition principle. The sum of two actions does not necessarily equal the effect of each of the actions performed alone…' Leylin watched the scene, but began to ponder other matters.

After experiencing so much in the World of Gods, he finally realised that the attribute data was different in this world.

'Although ordinary people have an average level of 1, it seems more difficult to advance further on. Even breaking through the bottleneck of 1 for all my stats was very difficult in the beginning, and I spent quite a lot of effort to do so. After raising my stats to 5, every time I raised my stats by 1 level, it became several times more difficult to do so again. After I reach 10 points, the disparity will become even more obvious…'

Leylin had a premonition that after his average attributes reached 10 points, every time it was raised by 1 would perhaps be equivalent to the sum effects of his previous advancements. His overall strength would increase and he would grow considerably. This sort of exponential increase was different to what he was used to.

*Whooosh!* A strong gale blew across the region, and Leylin subconsciously noticed a shattered armour fragment on the floor, with mottle bloodstains all over it. This shifted his attention directly to the battlefield.

"Kill those dark-skinned bastards!" A medium sized mercenary group's leader bellowed, radiating a tremendous force of qi.

These ogres were few in number, and did not even have a tenth of a medium sized mercenary group's number. After the medium-ranked Professionals went to stall the ogres, the superiority in numbers became clear.

"Ha! Kill!"

Ten low-ranked mercenaries grasped their pikes and grouped together in a simple formation, tightly trapping an ogre in their circle. Even these simple group attacks could not be deciphered by the ogre's brains, and along with the captain's command, ten pikes stabbed through one like vipers.

"Ow ow…" The ogre raged, and although it had caught the head of two pikes, many more pikes pierced through its body. Great quantities of fresh blood flowed forth, and the ogre struggled continuously but was firmly trapped by the prison of steel pikes.

The alliance of ten low-ranking Professionals had the power to seriously hurt an ogre. The pikes used by these mercenaries seemed to have been remodelled, with the spearhead containing bloody grooves and barbs. Once one pierced a target, it would undoubtedly spread the wound and cause a hemorrhage.

Blood spurted out like a torrential fountain, and although ogres were proud of their shocking regenerative ability, it could not save the life of this one.

The ogre's roars grew fainter, and the light in its eyes also began to dim. Its enormous corpse finally thudded onto the floor, mixing fresh blood with dirt to form a strange mottled pattern.

"Ow ow! Ow ow!" No matter how stupid a brain the ogre chieftain had, watching many of its clansmen being surrounded and cut down made it began to roar, shattering the arm of an unlucky mercenary in its hands.

The sound of its cry had changed from its earlier frenzied state, and seemed very curt. The other ogres who heard the sound began to fall back, and some even turned their backs and paid the price of being struck by the mercenaries to flee the battlefield.

"Hey! Don't even think of running away, cowards!" At this moment, Leylin felt the black warhorse beneath him immediately gallop off, advancing towards the ogre chieftain.

The other mercenaries were astonished when they saw a black warhorse carrying a slender knight, directly leaping over the crowd to arrive at the frontline. There was even a fighter seated behind her who seemed like he did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

Knight Battle Skill— Charge! Knight Battle Skill— Braveheart Knight Battle Skill– Sharp Qi!

A powerful glowing flame burst out from Rafiniya's lance, and many mercenaries cried out "High-ranked knight!" in astonishment. The warhorse had been reinforced by many battle skills began to gallop even faster, and overtook the ogre chieftain in a flash.

"Ha!" Rafiniya thrust her lance with great force, and as it had been reinforced by Sharp Qi it immediately shattered the ogre chieftain's defences. The lance pierced through its chest and exited through its back, and sblood suddenly began to rain down.

As a rank 10 knight with a noble steed, armour and a lance, if Rafiniya could not take down an ogre who was merely equivalent to a rank 7 or rank 8 fighter her master would probably throw himself into a lake.

"Good! Who is that?" Siegfried had watched the battle from the side, and his eyes landed on the high ranking knight. This was a powerful Professional, and it often represented a good background. Not everyone could afford to raise a master knight.

"They're not from the medium-sized mercenary groups, perhaps they're wandering mercenaries!" A wizard clad entirely in black robes replied from his side, her eyes flashing.

"A wandering mercenary? It looks like there's still a lot of talent at the bottom of the barrel. Send some men over to speak to them!" Siegfried stroked his chin, feeling rather curious about the knight's identity. At this point, the wizard nodded indifferently.

"Haha… So the rumoured ogres are only at this level?" Rafiniya strung up the ogre chieftain's corpse on a pole, a playful voice coming from within her armour. Leylin could tell that there was some uneasiness hidden in her slightly shaky voice.

"Hey hey… Shouldn't you let me down first?"

"Ah! How are you still here?" As expected, Rafiniya had already forgotten all about Leylin during her earlier charge, and only recalled that there was still someone seated behind her now.

At the same time, Leylin heard her mutter to herself, "Awful, how awful, it's so dirty… I don't want this lance anymore…"

...

Although Rafiniya had intervened at the very end, the fight had spread towards the caravans, and after she had finally charged towards the ogre chieftain, the rest of the ogres ran even quicker. In the blink of an eye, they seemed to have disappeared into the dense shrubs by the road, which made the mercenaries who wanted the reward money feel crestfallen.

Rafiniya had won the credit, and seemed to be in a trance-like state. She did not even respond to the men sent over by the Ashen Hawks, and finally Leylin had to present himself and chat with them.

Only after returning to their own carriage did Rafiniya reap the reverent gazes of the others, and usually this little lass would have been so happy that if she had a tail, it would be rapidly wagging.

However, the girl seemed most preoccupied with throwing away her steel lance which was covered in the ogre's blood and stench. She went alone into the sisters' carriage, and a faint sound of retching was heard. Leylin reckoned that she still needed some time to adapt.

Old Pam once again had picked up scraps, and collected the lance that Rafiniya no longer wanted. He put it away carefully as if it was some treasured object.

After hearing that Rafiniya had abandoned the ogre's ears as she was afraid of how dirty it was, Old Pam threw a huge tantrum and stomped his feet. He even scolded Leylin loudly for being a wastrel.

The level of his greed made Leylin wonder if Old Pam descended from the blood of a hoarding dragon.

"Haha… If those ogres come again, Old Pam will let them taste the power of my gun… HURR…" Old Pam was gripping a bottle of rum in both hands, and belched from time to time, his face completely flushed with excitement.

After fighting the ogres, the entire merchant group began to continue on their journey. However, they had all calmed down and were no longer as afraid as they were before. After passing through their first trial, they had realised that ogres were not up to their level. Although the ogres were very strong, they would still get injured and bleed, and they even took the head of the chieftain as a souvenir.

After the fear had passed, all of their thoughts grew lively again. Even Hera and her sister seemed to smile more.

'Really…' Leylin looked down at the scene and inwardly shook his head, a trace of suspicion in his eyes.

'Why do I feel that there was something off about these bunch of ogres? It seemed like they were using… A plan against the soldiers? What a joke! Even if they had the mental capacity, how could they come up with that idea? Perhaps it was just a coincidence… No, the rumoured two-headed ogres or ogre shamans would perhaps have this sort of intelligence…'

'If it's true, then things will become interesting…' Leylin's lips curved into a meaningful smile.

Trap

The events proceeded according to Leylin's expectations. Several ogres came up to challenge them once in a while, from five or six to over a dozen at a time. Obviously unable to harm their large group, they would run away with their tails tucked between their legs, sometimes leaving numerous corpses behind.

Many mercenaries were terrified at the beginning, but as time went on, they would lie on their fronts on the carriage roofs and watch the pathetic ways the ogres fled while bursting out in laughter.

This relaxed attitude even infected the Ashen Hawks. Leylin found that besides Siegfried and that wizard, the other members seemed to overestimate their enemies.

"There are two more days till we get out of this region. It's the easiest mission Old Pam has ever done!" As the group proceeded, the dwarf, Pam, clung to his bottle of alcohol as if it was precious, and his brandy nose shone brilliantly.

"I never want to see those disgusting vermin again…" Rafiniya's resentment was obvious. Ever since the time she had tried to show off, she had not participated in the attacks on the ogres. It seemed that this little lady had been scared stupid by the painful experience.

*Awoo…* At this moment, the terrible cries of the ogres sounded ahead of the group. Old Pam contentedly hiccupped, not the least bit affected by the sounds.

"Hic… again, again! The ones giving us money for free are back… I wonder who'll be lucky enough to get the ears of the ogres. The rewards are very good…"

"Things aren't going to be so easy…" Leylin unsheathed his own longsword, looking grim.

"What do you mean?" Pam had some suspicions, but his expression quickly changed. Continuous cries sounded from all directions, concealing a terrifying intent that even caused the warhorse Nick to neigh in distress.

"Damn it, there are so many of them!" Old Pam's bottle fell to the ground, creating a crunching sound. However, he had no time to feel sorry for his treasure, and instead immediately whipped out the firearm at his waist.

*Tak tak! Tak tak!* Ahead of the group now was pure chaos. Many merchants abandoned their goods and fled for their lives the way they'd come, creating an even larger uproar. There were many casualties among the mercenaries, and a huge number of tall figures could be seen in the distance.

"It's a trap! We've been surrounded!"

"Help! There are over 200 ogres!"

"Damn it, where are the Ashen Hawks? Where's Siegfried? Could he have already died by the hands of the ogre shamans?" Many voices mixed together, and everyone next to Leylin instantly paled.

They were then drowned out in a chaotic stream of people, forced along with the crowd. Helpless as leaves in a typhoon, they had to flee for their lives.

"Sister Hera!" Rafiniya yelled, jumping onto the horse carriage and taking over the job of the horsekeeper who had disappeared, holding tightly onto the reins. The halfling thief looked like he wanted to help but was incapable enough to, and disappeared into the masses.

As for the human archer? That fellow had gotten onto Rafiniya's precious horse, Nick, and galloped off quickly when the chaos had started. Rafiniya had needed to control the horse carriage and had no time to care about this, which allowed the archer to successfully steal the horse.

Wails and shrieks could be heard again and again, and the roars and cries from the ogres behind them were the strongest catalysts. The entire large caravan group completely fell apart.

The crowd pushed and squeezed their way through. In order to get on their way, they did not mind pointing their weapons at their own people.

With such a huge confusion, Leylin quickly disappeared along with the carriage. Of course, this was his intention.

'So this actually was a trap! Though it's just a pocket formation 1, I didn't expect that that these ogres were so intelligent… I really can't look down on them anymore.'

At the moment, the cumbersome horse carriage was like a broken sailboat in a tsunami, on the verge of being destroyed at any moment. The dwarf Pam from before had already disappeared. Based on his physique, Leylin could only pray that Pam was not trampled to death in the chaos.

'It's my chance!' Leylin's figure nimbly danced through the crowd, heading in the opposite direction. The cries of the ogres were even more clear there, and the horrifying sounds of tearing flesh rang out.

'The main forces of the ogres should be here. I can take perfect advantage of this chaos, furthermore…' Leylin's eyes glinted coldly.

The ogres did not hold a numbers advantage over the mercenary group. They could try to defeat them heads on, but it would come at a terrible cost. Instead, they'd set up an ambush, even leaving an escape route at the back.

This wasn't out of goodwill. Their goal was to further incite chaos among the group— when there was still a chance of escape, not everyone would be courageous enough to look forward and risk their lives. In order to have a chance at survival, how many would not hesitate to strike at their own companions?

More importantly, pursuing scattered soldiers was a battle that practically could not be lost.

'Only the two-headed leaders or ogre shamans could come up with such a plan…' Leylin's eyes glinted, 'So the only way to survive is to head in the opposite direction and break through this formation. Their main forces are here, and there'll be many scattered soldiers and prisoners. There'll be little chance of people pursuing me. As long as I get a quick horse and sprint for a while, I'll be able to get out of this ogre-filled region…'

Those who could see this path and take it were truly determined, and held perseverance. It was a pity that Leylin could see practically nobody who'd come to the same decision as himself.

Perhaps, there were a few intelligent merchants would have been able to understand this, but their panic had lowered their ability to think by a great amount. Or perhaps they were aware but lacked the strength to do this, and could only go along with the crowd and pray to the Goddess of Luck to aid in their escape.

'Furthermore… If I don't go to the frontlines, where will I get high-ranked ogres to absorb strength from?' Leylin burst into an empty large horse carriage.

He was no longer dressed in leather armour, and the steel longsword that he usually used was tossed aside. He'd dressed himself in black form-fitting clothing, using the same to hide half his face like a common thief.

The ring of wizardry glimmered faintly from his left hand on occasion, and there was a cold bloody light that flickered in the cuffs of his right hand, like the tongue of a poisonous snake.

The further he got, the lesser people there were. Flags, carriages, armour and weapons were abandoned everywhere. Blood flowed without end, forming dark red puddles on the ground.

A few ogres occasionally munched at incomplete corpses, just the sight alone enough to terrify someone. There were a few mercenary groups still immersed in battle. At the heart of it, the Ashen Hawks' flag stood tall.

"Captain, our brothers can't hold on for long!" The wizard waved her arm, and Inspirational Boost and several similar spells were cast unceasingly. It allowed the mercenaries nearby to perk up.

The Ashen Hawks and a few other midscale mercenary groups had previously held back a large portion of the ogres, allowing the merchant groups a chance to escape. An unending stream of ogres still surrounded, even outnumbering them at this point.

"We bought them the time time to escape, we've done our jobs! Prepare the spells; the entire team will scatter and leave. Let's meet up again at the Giant Rock Town we passed by earlier!" Siegfried now had surging qi twining around his body. His armour emitted a slight luster, and surprisingly enough it was a magic artifact that had a high grade.

His giant silver-white blade was now stained with the blood of the ogres.

Heaven Breaker! The terrifying might of the battle technique of a high-ranked fighter was much more powerful than Rafiniya's. Qi burst out like an arrow, instantly resulting in massive casualties amongst the ogres. There were even some cracks in the encirclement.

"Break out!" Siegfried urged his horse on madly, but while passing by the wizard, he spoke in a low voice, "Let's break out through the front and meet at the largest city ahead!"

As a veteran captain of a team, Siegfried was not as righteous and great as he appeared to be. In reality, good people never made it for long as mercenaries. As long as he and the wizard lived, the Ashen Hawks could be rebuilt at any point.

'Just from the perspective of a mercenary, he's done very well. He shouldn't be reprimanded for what he said at the last bit…' At the sidelines of the battlefield, Leylin hid in the shadows and hugged his arms while evaluating Siegfried, 'But.. The ogres this time aren't quite so simple…'

He looked past the encirclement right in front of him. At the back, he saw a hint of intent to kill.

Chain Lightning! The black-robed wizard tore a scroll, and silver-white lightning chains exploded, leaping through the group of ogres. Those who were struck collapsed with a cry, a charred smell transmitting and opening a path for the wizard.

Upon seeing this, the wizard was delighted. However, before she could do anything else, a powerful magic undulation was transmitted from afar.

"Crap!" The wizard's expression quickly changed.

1. Military tactic, enemies lured into narrow enclosed 'pocket' area, their entrance/exit is surrounded by soldiers to seal up the 'pocket', isolating the enemy.

Two-headed Ogres

These new ogres were more than two metres tall. They were dwarves given the ogre standard, but they had tattooed bodies and barbaric runes with unknown purposes.

"Ogre shamans!" The black-robed wizard exclaimed to herself. Shamans were the ogres who held bloodlines, ones who would awaken abilities similar to magic with age. They were the decision makers of ogre tribes. It was surprising that they lay in wait here.

The black-robed wizard suddenly had a premonition of a great catastrophe.

"Roar…" The ogre shamans gave the black-robed wizard no time to think. The tattoos and runes on their bodies shone layer by layer amidst their roars, their innate abilities as bloodline holders allowing them to cast such spells without learning or memorising anything. However, they still had the support and usage of the Weave.

Magical power gathered together, and numerous huge fireballs glowed orange as they tore apart the wizard's frail armour. The wizard was burnt to ashes along with the horse she rode.

"Lena!" Siegfried's eyes turned red, and he turned back despite having broken out of the siege, charging straight for the shamans.

While he might cold and selfish, Siegfried still prioritised his true friend and lover. The death of Lena immediately made him hot-headed, filled with the desire and impulse for revenge.

*Clang!* A silver-white longsword was smashed mid-air by a large black claw hammer, producing a dull and loud sound.

The terrifying recoil allowed Siegfried to somehow regain his composure and take a proper look at his opponent. This was a two-headed ogre who was over four metres tall, its skin a frightening blood-red with scales on it. One of its two fierce-looking heads was larger than the other, disgusting saliva dripping from the canine teeth. The thing rode a deformed earth lizard with a similar number of heads, although one of those was just a huge tumour with vague features.

*Roar…* The two-headed ogre exclaimed, brandishing a giant, black claw hammer that had come out of nowhere, charging towards Siegfried.

The horrifying strength from its astounding physique caused Siegfried to retreat. While his warhorse was fierce, it was no match for the ogreish beast. It was already spewing white froth, evidently unable to continue.

After the appearance of the two-headed ogre, the rest of the shamans and ordinary ogres seemed to have found a pillar to rely on, and began to pursue and kill the other mercenaries.

With the help of the shamans, the casualties of the mercenaries were immense. Only a few successfully broke out, and none of them dared take a look back and fled.

"There's even the two-headed ogre commander and ogre shamans!" Leylin exclaimed, eyes constantly flickering as he called up their stats.

[Name Unknown. Race: Ogre (Mutated) Gender: Male. Strength: 16, Agility: 7, Vitality: 15, Spirit: 6. Description: Two-headed ogres are mutants that occasionally appear in ogre tribes. Their two brains often leave them stuck between being wise or confused. Of course, there are exceptions where the intelligence of the ogres evolves. After evolution, the two-headed ogres are more powerful than ordinary ones. They, who have advanced in their wisdom, usually become the commanders of the ogre tribes.] [Name Unknown. Race: Ogre (Shaman). Gender: Male. Strength: 5, Agility: 4, Vitality: 9, Spirit: 10. Feats: 1. Regeneration. Ogres have extraordinary regeneration abilities, and even if the head is detached, they can still survive for a long period of time. 2. Bloodline Holder: The ogres who have activated the bloodline of primordial spellcasters possess abilities similar to magic. However, the type of spells and number of times spells can be cast depends on how far the bloodline has been awakened.]

'Pretty good stats. If I can devour all of them, things will be more perfect…' The Devilblood Dagger silently appeared in Leylin's hands. The devilish head hummed, as if speaking to its thirst for flesh and blood.

"Now!" When Leylin stepped out of stealth, the dagger had already pierced the throat of an ordinary ogre.

Terrifying devouring force exploded, causing the other party to instantly turn into a withered corpse. A hot stream of energy flowed into his hands from the dagger and rose along his arm, followed by a prompt from the A.I. Chip.

[Beep! Host has gone through a one-time amplification from the Devilblood Dagger. Strength +0.1, Vitality +0.05.]

'As expected of the ogres, they have very dense life energy!' Leylin sighed in praise, feet still moving. It was like a death god had begun to dance, the dagger glinting with blood.

Afterwards, he jumped onto a masterless warhorse, riding away in a cloud of dust. The mercenaries had no idea what was happening beside them, nor did the simple-minded ogres. All they saw was a vile human jumping out and killing a number of their people.

*Roar!* Amidst the furious roars, an ogre shaman brought a few elite ogre warriors and gave chase.

The two-headed ogre who was their commander was still contending with Siegfried. He was a high-ranked human warrior and not so easily defeated, and it could only let out a few cries that nobody could understand. A few ogres quickened their movements.

A handsome brown horse sped through the path, followed by a few boosted ogres. This strange group of a human and his pursuers soon covered a long distance.

There was a limit to the duration of a strength buff. Just as the shaman began to despair, it was was delighted to see that the human in front of it had stopped.

"Just one ogre shaman? What a disappointment." Leylin reined in the warhorse, seeing the little team that had pursued him while looking disappointed.

However, the simple-minded ogres did not care for what kind of expression Leylin had on his face. In reality, if not for the lead of the two-headed ogre, they might not even know how to set up the simplest traps. Hence, after seeing their foe, all of them charged forward.

Tattoos lit up on the shaman's body, turning into countless small fireballs.

Flight of the Dragon! The rays from a spell flashed at Leylin's side, and immediately after he elegantly soared from the back of the horse rapidly.

This advanced version of Fly allowed wizards to change directions quickly, and for those with great control like Leylin it only served to make them stronger.

*Rumble!* The warhorse that had been struck by the flames didn't even have the time to produce a miserable cry before it turned into a pile of ash. Leylin's figure, on the other hand, was like an eagle as he swooped down from the sky.

*Roar!* Leylin easily dodged a few fireballs, and a blood red light glimmered as he pierced through an ogre's throat.

With these quick attacks, the enraged shaman's spells had been emptied, and it had turned into someone even weaker than a normal ogre.

"Even if you can use magic, you're too simple-minded to use it well." A crimson tornado blew past, and the ogres that now had no defence became prime targets for the airborne Leylin. After a few pass-bys, the ogres collapsed one by one. At the end, the bloody dagger struck the shaman's forehead.

[Beep! Host has gone through a one-time amplification from the Devilblood Dagger! Vitality +0.2. Agility +0.1. Strength +0.2.] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded.

Ogres had strong muscles and flesh, and were comparable to middle-ranked warriors. They weren't easily found in such great numbers. However, Leylin's spirit state stayed constant, which was a pity.

After hitting the threshold that of 10 points, the Devilblood Dagger had become much less effective. If not, the once-Sovereign King of Gluttony, Beelzebub, could use just the Devilblood Dagger to establish a terrifying army that would get stronger the more it fought. He'd be able to take over the prime material plane.

'Since I've confirmed his location…' Leylin thought about it, and then flung dust behind.

"Dust of Disappearance! Spell of Invisibility!" Once the spells were cast, his body grew transparent and slowly disappeared into thin air.

As a wizard, Leylin naturally had considered using a flying spell and passing through this region, but he'd then abandoned this thought. The ogre-infested region was vast, and it was impossible for him to identify Beelzebub's location. There were also limitations when it came to flying spells. If the place he landed was where Beelzebub moved about, or if he caught the attention of ogres and was attacked with magic or crossbow attacks… Leylin was not willing to take on the consequences.

As he was right now, it was impossible for him to win against the two-headed ogre commander, much less the joint attack from numerous huge ogres.

Now though, with a general understanding of where the ogres were located and with their attention focused on the human merchant organisations as well as the mercenaries, Leylin was confident in being able to sneak back.

After all, an opportunity to see so many ogres was rare. Leylin also wanted to raise his abilities all the way to 10 points.

With the help of an invisibility spell, Leylin successfully returned to the battlefield, the ordinary ogres unable to discover him at all. Unless a shaman had awakened a detection spell and used it at the right time, he was safe.

The battle was already reaching its end. Many mercenary bodies were strewn everywhere, turning into the ogres' rations. Only the central battlefield still had sounds of a fight.

Another Meeting

At the centre of the battlefield were the high-ranked warrior Siegfried and the two-headed ogre commander.

Siegfried's body was now soaked in blood, and his warhorse had long since disappeared. There was a massive wound on his thigh now, and he could only use the silver-white longsword as a crutch to stay upright.

Opposite him, the two-headed ogre only seemed a little ruffled, but had no large injuries. Just from its heaving chest, it was obvious that much of its energy had been exhausted, and it might even have suffered internal injuries.

The few shamans nearby surrounded the two along with the regular warriors. Evidently, the victor had already been decided. Unless he got some assistance or pulled out a powerful magic scroll, the future of this high-ranked warrior would be bleak.

"Huff, huff… So I'm finally going to die?" Everything in front of Siegfried was a blur. Watching the two-headed ogre closing in, his limbs were like lead, with no strength in them whatsoever.

"Lena, I'm coming to keep you company!" The various scenes from his life appeared in Siegfried's mind, finally stopping on the instant that the black-robed female wizard smiled.

Afterwards, he watched the large claw hammer strike down, the target obviously being his brain. If nothing went wrong, his head would have burst apart like a pumpkin.

However, the lady luck seemed to favour him at that moment. The huge claw hammer stopped still in mid-air, and the two-headed ogre's expression was filled with fury and shock. A crimson dagger appeared through its chest.

"What's going on?" A hint of doubt flashed on Siegfried's face, and his body began to involuntarily rise.

A young man with a draconic expression had grabbed hold of his arm and was flying speedily, the winds that struck Siegfried's face were so strong that he could feel pain. At his back were the enraged howls of the ogres, as well as a few useless fireballs or lightning arrows.

'Hold Person! As well as Flight of the Dragon! Have I been rescued by a passing wizard?' Siegfried suddenly felt a hope for survival.

At this moment, he saw the wizard doing a pretty turn in mid-air, evading the attacks of the shamans on the ground. He pointed downwards with his right hand, and terrifying black corrosive clouds descended and blocked the views of many ogres.

Cloudkill! Leylin, who now had nothing to worry about, flapped his wings and carried Siegfried away from the battlefield.

Feeling his head spin as he flew, Siegfried crumpled to the ground, the smell of soil and crisp grass having him him involuntarily take a few greedy breaths. It was only at this moment that he could size up the wizard that had saved his life.

'Very young, but his magic abilities far exceed Lena…'

Siegfried respectfully lowered his head. He knew that there were many spells that could help maintain one's youth. The wizard who looked young in front of him might very well be an old freak with mood swings.

'But he looks rather familiar… Wait!' Siegfried struggled to get up, "Are you the fighter who was accompanying that high-ranked female knight, Ley?"

"You actually remember me?"

"Whatever it is, thank you for saving me!" Siegfried thanked him sincerely, and tacitly did not ask questions regarding Leylin.

"Don't worry about it. I just couldn't bear to let this go to waste!"

"Couldn't bear to let what go to waste?" At that moment, Siegfried felt an unprecedented sense of danger, but he who was grievously injured had no way to resist. At the moment of his death, all he saw was a blood-red dagger piercing his throat.

'If he was going to kill me… why save me?' Siegfried closed his eyes with this question inside his head, while Leylin felt the immense power gained from the Devilblood Dagger.

A two-headed ogre commander and a high-ranked warrior on top of that; it made him feel slightly full.

At this moment, the prompt of the A.I. Chip sounded in Leylin's mind. [Beep! Host has gone through a two-time boost from the Devilblood Dagger. Strength+2.5, Agility+1, Vitality+2.65, Spirit+0.001.]

A hot stream flowed from the dagger to all parts of his body, and was greedily absorbed by his cells. Leylin lifted his right arm, the slender palm holding within it strength that was now not lacking when compared to the ogres. On top of that, there were even constant after-images from it.

"I'm quite close to having all my attributes at 10 points, reaching the fundamental first step of perfecting my genes…" Leylin mumbled, looking at his stats. There were already changes.

[Leylin Faulen. Age: 16. Race: Human, Rank 10 Wizard. Strength: 8. Agility: 7.6. Vitality: 9.2. Spirit: 10. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite. Possessed Spell Slots: Rank 4 spell slot (3), Rank 3 spell slot (5), Rank 2 spell slot (7), Rank 1 spell slot (???), Rank 0 spell slot (???)]

"Vitality is already very close to the bottleneck. Besides, a stronger body is more suitable for my spiritual force…" Regular wizards commonly had powerful spiritual force but weak bodies. Leylin, however, was entirely different. Alongwith powerful spiritual force, he also had a terrifying vitality and strength comparable to holy warriors!

"Things will only be perfected when my vitality matches my spirit. Strength and agility are both important as well… Are these the laws governing the World of Gods?" Leylin sighed, and his hands then began to search the high-ranked knight's body in a practiced manner. As a high-ranked fighter and the captain of the large mercenary group, the Ashen Hawks, he should have some good items on his body. Leylin never let chances like these pass by, but was left disappointed.

"Besides the magical armour and weapons, he doesn't even have a bag of holding? Does that mean all mercenaries are poor, and even a first class captain is the same?" Leylin only managed to find a few magic artifacts and a coin pouch from Siegfried's corpse. There were tens of gold kronas inside, as well as a few cards from the church of wealth, which would come up to around ten thousand kronas.

It was a pity that these cards were bound to the user and had to be authenticated to use. After his death, nobody could take out that money unless they could deceive the verification methods of divine force, as well as deal with the rage of the Goddess of Wealth. When it came to those who vied for coins with her, the Goddess of Wealth would probably become even more crazed than an enraged dinosaur!

For regular bandits, such a profit was a great wealth enough to squander away for half a lifetime, even though the crystal cards could not be converted. However, Leylin cared little for this.

'Something's off! To take care of such a large mercenary group, the Ashen Hawks as well as wizard, he should have more wealth than that. Could there be other hiding places? In that case…' Leylin quickly peeled off Siegfried's clothes and checked everything inch by inch.

Finally, he found something. At an area near his chest on the shirt, there was a difference in terms of texture as compared to the surrounding regions. If one did not look closely, it was impossible to identify.

This method of concealment immediately aroused Leylin's interest. He quickly cut out this material and began to unravel this riddle.

'Mercenaries use potions of invisibility at most. With the A.I. Chip's simulation tests, they're easily found, but with a wizard by his side, it might be necessary to use magic…' Such intricate decryption work obviously was not a huge issue for Leylin. Soon enough, after being soaked in a solution, the fabric of the shirt was dyed a light yellow.

Reveal All! Appraisal! Rays from a series of spells appeared, and light red lines appeared on the parchment to form a map.

"A treasure map? Interesting!" Leylin memorised the map in an instant. Upon seeing the name of the region in the corner, the sides of his lips quirked slightly.

"So it's in the Dambrath Capital? I should take a look then…" After hastily tidying up the traces here, Leylin then left the area.

"I took care of the two-headed ogre, and without a leader, there will probably be unrest amongst them. There'll even be power struggles for the new commander position; they likely won't have the energy to pursue me. The merchant group have walked quite a distance, and I'll be able to reach Gloomwood Castle a short distance away. That's an important checkpoint into the kingdom. After that, I'll enter the central plains, where I won't be threatened by the ogres…"

Leylin found his way and began to hasten towards Gloomwood Castle.

"Sigh… I should have kept the warhorse. I'm going to have to walk there with my own two feet. I hope I'll find a few lost warhorses. Even if they're worn out, I'll still take them…" Just as Leylin was mumbling, his expression suddenly changed, "What the hell, there really is one!"

His expression abruptly showed delight as he turned to the right. A couple hundred metres ahead there was a black dot eventually turned larger, and the regular sounds of trotting were heard. After that, a figure being carried on the back of the horse entered Leylin's sights.

However, after he got closer, Leylin's smile widened.

"Hey, we meet again!" Leylin took the initiative to draw close and greet him, while the other party looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Damn it– No, I mean… Ley! Why are you here?" In front of Leylin was that human archer who had stolen Rafiniya's warhorse amidst the chaos. As for his name? Leylin had never taken notice of that.

He had actually dared break out of the siege by fleeing in the opposite direction and succeeded! His luck and guts were not to be underestimated. However, he did not seem to be in the best condition now. Not only did he have injuries, the large wooden bow that was always by his side had disappeared.

Coincidence

"I don't care what you're thinking right now. Give me that warhorse!" Leylin watched him, his eyes full of ridicule.

"He… hehe… I'm only borrowing it from Rafiniya. I was going to…" The archer had a forced smile on his face, but then his expression suddenly changed, "Look there!"

Without waiting for Leylin to turn, he raised his arms and shot three spring-loaded arrows towards Leylin's face.

"Go!" After shooting those arrows, the archer did not even give Leylin another look. Instead, he whipped the horse he was mounted on, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

He could tell that Leylin had no injuries at all and was in a much better state than he was. To be able to break out of the encirclement of the ogres without injury meant that Leylin was not someone he could contend with at this point. Hence, the archer firmly chose to flee.

"A great decision, though it's a pity that it's pointless…" A magic missile flew from Leylin's hands. With a strange trajectory, it sent the arrows flying, and without losing power struck the archer's back.

*Pak!* The archer suddenly flew from the horse, a terrifying sunken wound on his back.

"You– You're a wizard!" The archer struggled, eyes full of longing as he reached towards the skies fiercely with fingers like chicken claws. His body thrashed around wildly as if he was in the throes of death. Seconds later, he stopped moving.

Having lost its new master, Nick stopped galloping. The warhorse whinnied as it began to leisurely nibble at the grass on the side.

"I'm your master now." Leylin moved forward and grabbed Nick's reins, swinging onto its back without hesitation as he announced his ownership.

Nick had no objection whatsoever to his actions, as expected of a warhorse with no integrity. Or perhaps, it had a one-track mind and had no ability understand something so profound. As Leylin squeezed his thighs against the horse, the black warhorse immediately seemed to turn into a streak of lightning and began to speed ahead on the ground.

As a knight's mount, it was obviously more spirited than other horses, and Leylin found it wonderful.

He wasn't too far from their previous battlefield, and there was the occasional luck, or perhaps unfortunate, person who had escaped the ogres' pursuit. Leylin chose to pay no attention to their cries for help.

Even if those merchants showed off their sparkling gold kronas, they meant nothing to him. After all, the added wealth of all these little merchants might not even be enough to make up the amount of gold krona that he used in a single experiment. Why would he bother with this?

However, after passing by a small forest, something unexpected happened. Nick, who had been tame all this while, suddenly went mad and dashed into the bushes.

"Why is it doing this? Don't tell me…" While he could forcefully control the horse, Leylin only pulled at the reins for a bit and then gave up.

In his opinion, there was no harm in doing something if it was convenient for him, and he could even save his own party without putting in a lot of extra effort. He had no idea how effective his help would be, though.

After passing through the thick layer of black brambles, a desperate scene appeared in front of him.

A carriage that had lost its mount had collapsed to the side, whereat Hera and her sister were embracing each other and shivering. Numerous terrifying ogres surrounded them, eyes full of unconcealed greed.

Rafiniya was holding her sword with both hands, her armour full of holes. There were traces of ground flesh and blood on it, and it was clear she had experienced countless bitter battles.

The female knight now had a deep wound on her thigh, where one could even somewhat see the bones. This made the girl grit her teeth, crystalline tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. Despite it all, she maintained the determination on her face. Without her protection, Hera and her sister would long since have become rations for the ogres.

Putting two and two together, Leylin had a general idea of what had happened. After being separated in the streams of people, they had run wildly all over the place. With Rafiniya's help, they took care of many enemies and had finally arrived here.

"However, if they chose this direction purposely instead if accidentally, Hera is more wise than I previously assumed…" The three ogres that were attacking them were normal warriors, and there were no shamans present. They may be huge threats to the heavily injured Rafiniya, but they were nothing at all to Leylin.

"Hey, beautiful ladies. Good morning!" Leylin seemed to arrive like an unexpected guest, leisurely greeting everyone as if he had coincidentally and naturally bumped into them on his afternoon stroll.

"Nick!" Rafiniya saw her black warhorse, eyes blazing, "And Ley! You darned thief! If not for my companion being stolen, how would I have…"

Leylin was completely immune to the words of this female knight. Upon hearing her words, he merely rolled his eyes, automatically tuning her out.

*Growl…* After seeing Leylin's appearance, the few ogres with simple minds had no other thoughts as they pounced forward.

"My longsword was discarded just now. What a pity…" Leylin patted at his warhorse, and Nick was able to leap in a way it was unable to usually. It jumped over the ogre's head and came to Rafiniya's side.

"Give me that sword." Rafiniya initially looked ready to refuse, but for some reason she felt a sense of terror as she looked at Leylin's calm face. She obediently handed it over.

'Strange… why did I…' Before she had the time to ponder this, however, her little mouth opened in shock and amazement.

"Not bad!" Leylin shook the knight sword in his hands. As a high-ranked knight, Rafiniya's equipment was all of a high grade. Whether it was her horse or her sword, they were much better than what he had before.

The glaring brilliance of qi burst forth from Leylin's hands.

Battle technique: Qi Strengthening! Battle technique: Charge! Battle technique: Cross Slash!

Leylin's figure instantly turned into a streak of black, and the longsword was enveloped in the luster of qi as he began his assault on the three barbaric beings.

Cross-shaped light-rays flashed ahead, and three malicious heads flew off. Even after the corpses of the giant ogres crumpled to the ground, Rafiniya still seemed to be in disbelief.

'On top of being able to activate Qi, his advanced battle techniques and his proficient battle techniques are even better than my teacher's…' Rafiniya looked absent minded, not even able to catch her longsword properly when Leylin tossed it back.

The battle techniques Leylin had just shown were not inferior to the most powerful person she'd ever seen, and that was a high-ranked paladin!

"Thank you." At this moment, Hera hugged her little sister as they stood up, eyes full of gratitude aimed at Leylin. If not for Rafiniya and Leylin, she and her sister would long since have turned into jerky for the ogres to stockpile. There was no way to even escape.

As for Leylin's sudden 'disappearance', this lady rationally chose not to pursue this. Things were very dangerous now, and in a situation where Rafiniya was gravely injured, they were in need of Leylin's protection. Leylin did not even need to harbour malicious intent. As long as he abandoned the three girls, they were in deep trouble.

She immediately spoke out, "Thank you Mister Ley. I'll increase the commission once we reach the town, I'm sure it will satisfy you."

She had especially lowered her own status while speaking, and Leylin nodded on the inside.

"Wait… If you're going to talk about raising the commission, then poor Old Pam should have a part of it too!" At this moment, the carriage at the side completely fell apart, and a dwarf with a broken leg rolled out like a ball.

"Things were completely chaotic when we were surrounded. Thankfully, we had Rafiniya protecting us, and we also bumped into Mister Pam after that…" Hera smiled forcefully as she explained the situation to Leylin. He merely rolled his shoulders, speechless at the dwarf's luck in keeping his life. Or perhaps, he was really blessed by the Goddess of Luck?

Leylin and the group set out immediately after some rest and reorganisation. This was still a danger zone, after all.

However, the horse carriage from before was now useless. Leylin had no choice but to modify the remains of the carriage to a handcart, allowing Hera, her sister and Rafiniya to squeeze together. They had to bring the dwarf Pam along as well. The warhorse, Nick, was regrettably demoted to a worn-out old horse, exerting all its strength to pull the cart forward slowly.

"You didn't see it, but three ogres pounced towards Old Pam! Each of their mouths were as large as my head…" From atop the cart came Old Pam's bragging with gusto. Rafiniya squeezed forward, looking at Leylin.

"When are you returning Nick to me?"

"Give me a ransom in exchange. Don't forget, this warhorse is something I got from winning against the archer. This is a place is protected by the laws of the kingdom. If you want the horse, go look for the archer…"

Sitting atop Nick, Leylin spoke seriously. This was much like the thinking of a bandit.

"Damn it, that archer's corpse should have already entered the stomachs of the ogres!" Rafiniya mumbled to herself, occasionally muttering words like 'thief'. At the end, she unwillingly tossed a gold card at Leylin.

"These are all my savings. I have nothing more…"

"That's not bad…" Taking a look at the numbers, Leylin then began to whistle contentedly, "Deal! It's yours!"

Rafiniya then gloomily found out that she was unable to ride Nick due to her injuries. Everything seemed to stay the same as before.