Hunt 3

Orof Kingdom, Northern Frontier

The towering wall, which stood 30 meters high, stretched for thousands of miles. Behind it lay vast grasslands owned by the kingdom, while beyond it stretched an enormous rocky wasteland that seemed endless. In this harsh environment, there was nothing to see but dead trees and plants, a poisonous lake and river, and the bones of known creatures scattered everywhere. In the distance, a hill of corpses from the fallen horde of monsters lay.

On top of this bloody hill sat a man with brown hair and eye-catching mustaches seemingly fit for his handsome face. This man was none other than Maximilian Vorge, also known as the strongest swordsman in the Orof Kingdom and one of the youngest people to reach the rank of Grandmaster.

Roar.

A huge monster roared from behind Vorge. He turned his head and saw a massive white bear, lightning crackling in its eyes.

The bear stood on its hind legs and took a deep breath. Lightning began to seep from the edges of its mouth, and then the bear opened its mouth wide, releasing a thunderous roar of lightning.

Thunder Bear—a magical beast that manipulates thunder. It has high intellect akin to a human, immense magical power, and most of its magic consists of lightning-based spells tailored to its kind. The beast stood 30 meters tall when fully upright.

Lightning Bear Roar is its ultimate and iconic attack, releasing a pillar of lightning from its mouth—akin to a dragon's breath.

Thunder Bears are classified as A-rank threats, magical beasts capable of wiping out an entire town and even a city.

Unbothered, Vorge casually drew his sword and swung.

An air blade shot forth, flying at the Thunder Bear with immense speed, instantly decapitating it within seconds.

The Thunder Bear's head flew into the air and landed with a squelching sound.

Thud! Its headless body collapsed to the ground.

Vorge didn't bat an eye at the fallen beast and continued to sit atop the hill of corpses. He was simply relaxing when he suddenly felt a massive magic power approaching from a distance.

He sensed no hostility, so he didn't raise his guard. After a minute, a silhouette appeared on the horizon—then vanished. The next moment, a sultry, feminine voice sounded beside him.

"You're barbaric as ever," the voice said.

Beside Vorge stood a beautiful, seductive woman gazing into the distance. Vorge remained unfazed by her sudden appearance. This woman was Mina, one of the Hundred Deadly Knights, an elite force of the Orof Kingdom. She was known as the Red Rose, an untouched flower amidst a dangerous, bloody battlefield.

"And you're still dressed like a whore," Vorge said flatly.

Mina was a striking woman with long red hair flowing to her waist, snow white skin, and a seductive, sinful body. Her attire consisted of a bikini that barely covered her essential parts.

Mina wasn't bothered by Vorge's remark. "General Rung requested your presence. He's waiting at headquarters."

"What if I refuse?" Vorge asked.

"This isn't a request. It's an order," Mina replied coldly.

Vorge didn't respond and simply stared into the distance, lost in thought.

Headquarters of the Northern Frontline.

The sun had already set on the distant horizon. The moon was rising, and the stars were emerging, replacing day with night. In a certain office, a man sat on a comfortable sofa. This man had black hair and a lean, muscular physique that exuded a powerful, intimidating presence. He was Rung, one of the Ten Generals of the Orof Kingdom.

He once faced an Earth Dragon—its claws as large as a hill, its tail stretching dozens of miles, its body akin to a large mountain. Despite its massive size, the dragon was still weak compared to the Dragon Kings. Still, bringing down such a colossal beast was a great feat, one Rung managed with a final decisive strike of his super magic after several days of battle.

Opposite Rung stood five people in the Orof Knight's salute. These five were Loc, Fed, Joy, Rox, and finally, Vorge. All five were among the kingdom's greatest prodigies—and also the most unruly.

"We greet the General!" they shouted in unison while saluting.

Rung nodded in acknowledgment and spoke without nonsense. "Go to Dragonof and proceed to this location." He handed over a document. "Find the rumored God of Forge's identity, then report his location."

Joy, after reading the document, asked with confusion, "Why were we chosen for this important task? I don't want to admit it, but we're the most unruly ones. We specialize in creating chaos—not espionage."

Rung gave him a helpless look. "The other prodigies like you are already deployed to other battlefields. They're currently fighting alongside the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th battalions, fending off hordes of monsters in the west. The Hundred Deadly Knights are in the east, handling the dragons. That leaves the five of you. I can't assign this to normal soldiers, so I'm giving it to you."

Joy sighed. The others didn't say much—they accepted the mission.

Seeing this, Rung smiled. "Besides, according to our intel, the God of Forge doesn't have combat abilities. His strength lies only in his forge. This should be an easy mission for the five of you."

"Whatever you do won't affect the mission. And besides, Lord Alberto will accompany you," Rung added dismissively.

The other four perked up at the mention of Alberto—one of the Three Pillars supporting the Orof Kingdom. He was known as the Master of All Magic, the Archmage.

Vorge, on the other hand, didn't react. In his analysis, they were merely pawns—distractions. When Rung said that nothing they did would affect the mission, a suspicion rose in Vorge's mind. Hearing that Alberto would join them confirmed it. They were just a decoy—the real mission would be performed by Alberto.

After giving all the necessary information, Rung dismissed them and returned to his work, while the five prepared for their departure.

In the forest, a man was running desperately from something—that man was Vorge.

"I need to escape… Why does something like that even exist?" Vorge screamed in his mind, fear gripping his heart.

Like the wind, he dashed through the forest at great speed, dodging trees and obstacles with practiced ease. Suddenly, his instincts flared—danger was coming from behind.

Without looking back, he leapt to the left. But something strange happened.

His vision flipped upside down.

Then he saw it—his own back… and his headless body collapsing to the ground.

In that final moment, he realized the truth:

He was dead.

His head had been cleanly decapitated.