While the scent of scorched mud and ogre blood filled the air around the crater, Vespar navigated the perimeter with a predatory grace that transcended her previous limits. The heavy rain did not bother her; instead, each drop that hit the ground provided a vibration she could track with her enhanced perception.
She utilized her Blood-Shadow Step, appearing and disappearing behind the trunks of ancient trees as if she were a ghost haunting the woods.
'Five heartbeats. One strong, four fluttering in fear,' she noted, her violet eyes glowing with a black halo that mirrored Leo's.
She found them perched on a small ridge overlooking the site. They were a scouting party led by a Lord who clearly valued agility over raw power. The Lord held a silver recurve bow, his fingers twitching near the string. They were positioned perfectly to fire upon Leo while he was dismounted and talking to Grakul.
"The Rare-grade bracelet is already in his hand," one of the scouts whispered, his breath hitching as he looked at the piles of ogre corpses. "Lord Silas, we should go. That crimson knight... I don't think we can take him down."
"Stay steady," Silas replied, his voice tight with a mixture of envy and ambition. "He is just one man. If we can pin him down with a volley, the horse and the knight won't be able to react in time."
Vespar watched them from the absolute darkness of a hollow log just three meters away. She could have ended them all in a single flurry of blades, but she knew her Master's style. He didn't just want them dead; he wanted them to understand why they were dying.
She vanished into a mist of blood and shadow, reappearing instantly beside Leo. She didn't kneel this time; she leaned into the space beside his ear, her presence a chilling draft in the humid rain.
"My Lord, there are rats in the north," Vespar reported. "A Lord named Silas and four archers. They are debating whether to gamble their lives for the artifact."
Leo didn't even turn his head toward the ridge. He merely looked at Grakul and then at the dark line of trees to the north.
''Greed,'' Leo repeated, his voice calm. ''It seems the treasure hunt has officially begun.''
'Malphas, launch this pig toward the spectators,' Leo commanded, a dark smirk playing on his lips. Malphas moved with mechanical precision, delivering a kick to Grakul that sent the massive ogre hurtling through the air.
BAM
''Nooo!'' Grakul shrieked, a flying mass of fat and desperation soaring toward Silas's hidden position. Silas and his scouts, still convinced of their own stealth, were caught completely off guard.
''Get ready. When the man in the coat enters the kill zone, fire without --'' Silas's order died in his throat. His arrow slipped from the rest as Leo vanished from the crater in a blur of impossible speed. ''Wher- '' Before the thought could form, the cold bite of steel touched his jugular.
Crouching beside the terrified Lord, Leo chuckled, his crimson eyes glowing with a predatory light. ''Well, hello there.''
Silas froze, cold sweat mingling with the rainwater on his brow. ''How... how are you so fast?'' he stammered, his hands shaking so violently he dropped his silver bow.
''Dangerous, isn't it? But before we discuss my speed, let us tidy up the area,'' Leo remarked, casting a sideways glance at the archers who were frozen in shock. ''Vespar. Clean them up.''
Silas watched in horror as a shadow of blood and mist tore through his men. There were no screams, only the wet sound of steel meeting throat. ''No! Stop it! What are you doing?'' Silas screamed, his eyes filling with tears of rage as he watched his comrades fall.
''Easy now. My blade is quite temperamental when people start twitching,'' Leo whispered, pressing the edge just deep enough to draw a thin line of red.
''Why? We were only observing! We never drew blood!'' Silas roared, swinging a desperate, clumsy punch at Leo's jaw.
Leo leaned back effortlessly, the strike hitting nothing but air. ''Come on, champion. Show some dignity,'' Leo mocked, parrying a flurry of frantic blows with one hand still in his pocket.
''Aish, you really are a piece of work. You set an ambush, wait for me to be distracted, and then have the nerve to preach like a righteous Buddha when you are caught? Fuck off,'' Leo growled, his dagger flashing in a silver arc as he expertly sliced through Silas's wrist, disarming him in more ways than one.
"AAAAAH!"
Silas screamed, clutching his severed wrist as blood soaked into the muddy ground. The silver bow lay forgotten in the rain. ''My hand! You monster, what have you done!''
Leo looked down at him with zero pity. ''You were going to kill me for a bracelet. Did you think I would just slap you on the wrist? Well, technically, I did.''
A few meters away, Grakul finally stopped rolling. The ogre was a mess of bruises and broken teeth, looking back and forth between the dead archers and the bleeding Lord. 'I should have just stayed in the cave,' the ogre thought, his pig-like eyes wide with terror.
The remaining ogre survivors huddled together, their spirits completely broken by the display of casual cruelty.
''Vespar, check his pockets,'' Leo ordered, pointing at Silas.
In a flicker of shadow, Vespar appeared over the fallen Lord. She didn't use her hands; she used the tip of her dagger to slit Silas's leather belt, sending his satchel spilling onto the grass. Among the basic rations and iron coins, a small, glowing crystal and a map caught Leo's eye.
''No, not the map!'' Silas gasped, trying to crawl toward it with his remaining hand.
Leo stepped on Silas's fingers, pressing down just enough to make him wince. He picked up the map. It wasn't a normal paper map; it was a magical parchment that showed the coordinates of a temple called Sun-eater.
A fixed point treasure. Likely a dungeon or a high-grade ruin,' Leo thought.
He turned his gaze back to Grakul, who was currently huddled in a ball, hoping to be mistaken for a boulder. The ogre's magic staff was broken, and half of his clan was decimated. He was the picture of pathetic failure.
''Grakul,'' Leo's voice was like a whip.
The ogre jolted, his rounded frame trembling with terror. ''Yes, Great King! Yes! Grakul is listening!''
''Think very carefully about how you intend to save your life. It is either you or this whining rat,'' Leo said, gesturing toward the wheezing Silas.
The Captain grabbed the ogre by the neck and shoved him into the mud beside Silas, his jagged face twisted into a grin of pure ecstasy as he watched the play unfold.
Silas gasped, clutching the blood-soaked ruin of his arm. ''Why... Why are you doing this? We come from the same world. Can you not just show some mercy? Please,'' he begged, dragging his broken body through the muck toward Leo.
Leo sighed, a sound of genuine boredom. Even though Silas was putting on a show of desperation, Leo's senses picked up the jagged edges of the man's true emotions. He knew Silas was a snake; given a single opening, the man would bury a knife in his back without hesitation.
Crouching before the broken Lord, Leo met his eyes. ''You should know that I have no particular taste for torture, but I am not above it. Now, speak. Do you possess any information that makes your life worth sparing, or is this where your story ends?''
The agony in Silas's wrist pulsed in time with the heavy rain. He gritted his teeth in pure agitation, his pride warring with his instinct to survive. He looked up at Leo, hoping to find a flicker of hesitation, but he saw only the cold indifference of a man who viewed him as nothing more than a source of data. "I..." Silas trailed off, his breath hitching as the blood wouldn't stop flowing.
Leo let out a long, weary sigh. He reached into his coat and produced a vial of healing essence, letting a solitary drop hit Silas's tongue. It was a calculated investment - just enough to stop the bleeding and keep the Lord from slipping into shock.
"Now talk," Leo commanded, his silhouette a dark blot against the gray sky.
"Cough... the alliance Vice leader," Silas gasped, the meager potion giving him just enough strength to speak. "He sent out a regional call to every member within a fifty-kilometer radius. He claimed that a high-grade treasure had descended, but a relentless horde of goblins was guarding it. He told us it was a joint operation, an invitation to gather and claim the prize together."
'A horde of goblins?' Leo thought, a small, mocking smile touching his lips. 'Does he use the natives as a cover to gather an army, or is there really a treasure?'