Lange never would have imagined that the sound, which had been as violent as an earthquake earlier, was actually produced by the death of this giant.
Granted, it wasn't hard to connect the two.
But when it actually happened before his eyes, Lange was still shocked.
An indescribable sensation surged deep within his heart.
When the gap in strength is small, or when one feels they lost to an opponent weaker than themselves, they might feel anger and resentment.
But when the disparity in strength is visibly vast, all negative emotions vanish, leaving behind nothing but pure awe.
“Yeah,” Ogre nodded half-heartedly.
In truth, this battle had not been as easy for him as it appeared.
As the adrenaline subsided, Ogre felt his body grow incredibly exhausted, and it throbbed with pain...
Four to five minutes was his absolute limit in battle—but that did not mean a fight lasting under a minute came without a price.
Acquiring power always came with a cost.
An explosive burst of this degree was entirely exchanged for the wear and tear on Ogre's own body, and the process of the battle was by no means easy, much like a tightrope walker performing an act—a single misstep would mean falling into the abyss.
The reason Ogre had intervened was to quickly free Folke. Otherwise, with every passing moment wasted, Serandic would have been in greater danger.
Without completely taking care of that big guy, leaving certainly wouldn't have been easy. The longer they stayed here, the more dangerous it would become.
But regardless, what happened to Serandic was directly tied to Ogre; he was the one who had gathered everyone, and he was the one who had chosen this village.
Thus, Ogre had to take responsibility.
“I really didn't expect this place to be so dangerous...” Lange said with a sigh.
He had barely participated in this adventure.
Yet despite that, the enemies appearing one after another allowed him to catch a glimpse of the bloody reality of the law of the jungle.
He couldn't help but recall the goal he had quietly set for himself when he first became a Knight long ago—that one day, he would become as strong as that man.
‘So, this is what the life of a Professional is like...’ Lange couldn't help but tighten his grip on the sword in his hand.
“Let's leave quickly,” Ogre said as he walked past Lange.
“Aren't we going to deal with those who ran away? And aren't we going to search for anything of value?” Lange asked.
“We can save that for later. I'm afraid if we don't leave now, we won't make it in time.” Ogre glanced deep into the forest before turning to walk down a different path.
“That's not the path we came from. Ogre, you're going the wrong way,” Lange raised his hand to point out.
Although he didn't understand for the moment why they had to leave so abruptly, he still followed.
“I know,” Ogre replied. He bent down, scooped up some dirt and sand from the ground, and rubbed it on himself. Only after ensuring no trail of blood would be left behind did he stand up and continue forward.
“Why are you in such a rush to leave?” Lange asked, still puzzled.
Asking when you don't understand was a good habit, one that Folke had taught him.
“This village is far too strange. And one thing to note is that the goblin Professional I fought was only a Knight, but that goblin giant was clearly not something a mere Knight could have created.”
During the battle, Ogre had noticed signs of modification on the goblin giant—moreover, its movements had been highly unnatural...
“You mean?!” Lange caught on to what Ogre was implying.
“Yes—the true master of this place is likely no simple figure. If we don't leave now, I'm afraid we'll all die here.” Ogre had always lived by the principle of never leaving empty-handed.
But only when safety was guaranteed.
The current situation was anything but safe. Even if some deep secret were hidden here, Ogre had no intention of digging into it.
Slipping away from here and diving into the small woods.
Only after managing the scent on their bodies could they consider themselves halfway safe.
“Goblins... I never expected such a low-tier monster could possess this kind of power.” Lange's own Life Circle was only two-thirds complete.
His battle qi seed was not yet strong enough to circulate through and cover his entire body.
Under normal circumstances, Lange wouldn't have felt there was anything wrong with this. After all, having this kind of strength at his age wasn't bad by any means; there were plenty of people who progressed much slower than him.
But the trouble was, he had come to this place.
It really went to show that the world was full of wonders; even a single goblin could complete the Life Circle and become a Professional Knight.
What was even more absurd was that this Professional goblin had died at the hands of Ogre, whom Lange had previously assumed only won through trickery.
And even that would have been fine.
But then this guy told him he hadn't even exerted his full strength before, only to turn around and slaughter a giant goblin...
The terrifying power of that giant goblin.
Lange didn't doubt it for a second—Serandic, whose strength was on par with his, had almost died from a single blow of that club. Even if Lange was slightly hardier physically, the difference was marginal.
“Never underestimate any form of life...” Ogre said as he wiped his mask and placed it inside his satchel. He then continued, “Any life that can survive in the forest is, in fact, remarkable.”
Lange opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn't know how to phrase it.
In the end, he glanced back one more time at the goblins he had hacked to death.
Perhaps... his greatest stroke of luck was being born human, born in a peaceful place, with a decent background and someone worthy of following...
“I respect all lives that exert everything they have just to survive.” Ogre used his spear to clear away the overgrown weeds in front of him. After a brief pause, he spoke again, “So, no matter who I fight, I will take it seriously.”
Ogre also would never forget how those creatures had treated him when he was weak.
“Ogre...” Lange sighed.
“What is it?” Ogre asked without turning back.
“I just feel like... you're very different from everyone else.” The more contact Lange had with him, the more he could feel Ogre's uniqueness—it was a kind of unfamiliar, distant loneliness.
“Different?”
Ogre forced a self-deprecating smile.
“But it won't be that way in the future,” Lange patted the armor on his chest and said, “You have us. Once my young master graduates, you're welcome to join us anytime. You're one of the few people he actually respects.”
“Alright, once I fulfill my wishes, I'll definitely look you guys up.”
Frankly, Ogre didn't dislike Lange, despite his frequent rude remarks.
Compared to those hypocritical people in the arena, a straightforward guy like Lange seemed harmless and innocent instead.
“Ogre, I'm serious.”
“I'm serious too,” Ogre said, turning his head.
“Good then.”
“By the way...”
Ogre seemed to think of something, and suddenly asked Lange another question. “Speaking of which, Lange—how do you view what we adventurers do? I mean... how do you view humanity's intrusion into the Forest of Monsters? What if... I mean, what if we are on the unjust side?”
Ogre was somewhat curious about this mainlander's perspective.
“How else should I view it? Once hands are thrown, who has time for so many thoughts?” Lange countered, not understanding. If it hadn't been Ogre asking, he would have directly shot back with: —where did all this nonsense come from?
“True, once hands are thrown...”
Between different races, once a clash begins, right and wrong often cease to matter.
There would be no distinction between good and evil, nor men, women, young, and old.
All rhetoric attempting to beautify war was nothing more than a cover-up for self-interest.
Once the wheels set in motion, the truth no longer mattered—hatred would take over everything.
...
Rate on N.U.
