Chapter 31  

The bloodthirst that Lee Shin had sensed when he first came here was not directed at himself.

"Kreughhh..." There was a sense of vigilance in the low cry.

It was a dark night. The moonlight that filtered through the leaves illuminated the ground, but all the other spaces were completely dark, making everything invisible. An Ogre was in Lee Shin’s face, looking at him with his red eyes. There was no reason for Ogre to be in a place like this.

Ogres were usually known as kings of the mountain range. There was definitely a mountain range around here, but this entrance was not where an Ogre would normally be. As if he had sensed Lee Shin’s strong mana, he could not move but he had his guard up.

"I think all the Ogres I know are dead," Lee Shin made fun of him.

“What an arrogant human being…” the Ogre replied.

Whooong— Boom!

The Ogre rushed towards Lee Shin as if he had bounced off from the ground. His agility was unexpected for his large size, and he was strong enough to dent the ground. And again, an Ogre was an Ogre.

Lee Shin avoided the Ogre’s attack; but as if he had expected it, the Ogre’s club came at Lee Shin the second time. At that moment, a sword appeared right in front of Lee Shin's nose; it blocked the Ogre’s club.

"You are as strong as a horse." There was a slight excitement in his hoarse voice.

"What are you?" the Ogre asked.

"I am the loyal knight of my master here and a Red-Eyed Swordsman.” Warrie's red eyes burned a brighter red.

The red aura passed from Warrie’s body down to his sword.

"Ugh! You annoying Skeleton!" The Ogre’s attack became even more powerful as if his ego was hurt from the Skeleton’s block.

When the two clashed, a wave of mana spread in all directions. Warrie's body was pushed back little by little, as if it was difficult to defeat the Ogre with strength even if he had pulled up his mana power.

Whooong—

Kwang! Swoosh—

"Keughaaa!" In the midst of a series of strong attacks by the Ogre, a flame ball that was aimed at his weak point flew from somewhere and hit the Ogre’s head.

"Don't interfere!" In anger, Warrie turned his head toward the direction from which the flame ball came.

May was standing there in his robe with his wand. He was laughing at Warrie.

"Says you who was losing,” May laughed at Warrie.

"I was not losing!” Warrie shouted.

"Keuahhh! How dare you!" the Ogre shouted.

The Ogre’s mana spewed out more strongly, and the surrounding air quickly became heavy.

"I will kill you al—” The Ogre was interrupted.

"Stop!" Lee Shin shouted.

At that time, everyone’s eyes turned to Lee Shin when he interrupted the Ogre.

"That's enough. I'm not here to fight," Lee Shin explained.

"You don’t get to decide that!" the Ogre shouted.

"Does that mean you don't care if all the other guys die?" Lee Shin asked.

The Ogre, who had finally calmed down after listening to Lee Shin's words, had noticed that Lee Shin's mana had spread throughout the forest. Black Mana had spread like fog in the dark forest. The ferocity contained in the mana was terrifying to the Ogre himself.

In the forest, there were other tribes who were secretly watching them in the dark.

They were waiting for the Ogre to signal. However, at the same time, they had become the hostage of the wizard. The Ogre’s soaring mana power had subsided.

"That was pretty good, man," the Ogre said.

The Black Mana was a subtle yet powerful spell. The Black Mana, full of death, had a bloodthirst that could sweep away the enemies any time. No matter how outraged he was, the Ogre was a little surprised that he did not immediately notice Black Mana.

"Are you ready to have a conversation?" Lee Shin asked.

* * *

In the middle of the forest, Lee Shin and the Ogre sat facing each other. Lee Shin, who was much smaller than the Ogre, had to build a tall stone tower and sit on it to meet the Ogre at eye level.

"So, you're saying that you came here to make an alliance with us?" the Ogre asked.

"Yes," Lee Shin replied.

"But I saw you enter the citadel of the Goblins. Also, you even saved a Goblin last time." The Ogre did not believe Lee Shin.

"It was inevitable. The citadel of the Goblin will not fall down easily. Unless someone from the inside attacks it, your power is nowhere close to defeating them."

"Kreughhh…" The Ogre frowned at Lee Shin's words and let out an angry cry.

There were different species living in this forest. One day, they were robbed of their home and land by the invading Goblins. The Goblins refused to accept them and did not try to coexist.

"Why are you here? Are you the only Ogre here?" Lee Shin asked.

"Yes... all my people were killed by the Goblins," the Ogre replied.

"Why did the Goblins come in all of a sudden? What good is there about becoming enemies with you guys? You’re an Ogre and you would not easily get defeated by the Goblins anyway,” Lee Shin asked.

"I’m sure that they wanted to take over all the resources in this mountain range. The Goblins are crazy about metal," the Ogre explained. Only then did Lee Shin could have a clearer understanding of their relationship. The Goblins had wiped out all the tribes of this mountain range and pushed the mountains away with their excellent hextech skills. And they were trying to monopolize all the resources around here.

"Who are you? What kind of wizard deals with the dead?” the Ogre asked.

"You don't need to know that,” Lee Shin replied.

It seemed that his reputation had not spread to the people here.

"Why are you trying to defeat the Goblins?" The Ogre was still suspicious.

"Why did you lose your home to the Goblins?" Lee Shin did not answer Ogre and asked a random question instead.

"Because of that damn scrap metal! They can never defeat us with their own strength! So answer my question!" The Ogre, who got worked up by Lee Shin's words, shouted as if he was having a seizure.

Even though Lee Shin was facing such a ferocious creature, he did not budge. He spoke, staring at the Ogre.

"They are weapons called Titan. It's not just any scrap metal," Lee Shin explained.

"Is that important though?” the Ogre asked.

"It is important. That's the reason why I want to defeat the Goblins,” Lee Shin said.

Ogres were quite intelligent but they were simple. Lee Shin continued on with his explanation, seeing that the Ogre seemed interested in his words.

"Titan is such a great weapon that it can beat you Ogres. Among them, the performance of Titan, the one used by the Lord of the Goblins, is unbelievably strong," Lee Shin explained.

"Yeah, I’m aware. That huge scrap metal... No, I mean the Black Titan killed my people," the Ogre replied.

"That outstanding Titan consumes a lot of energy. And the source of energy is not readily available. I'm trying to take that away from them," Lee Shin muttered.

When Lee Shin finished speaking, he looked around and pointed at something.

"What's that?" Lee Shin asked.

There were old-looking columns and stone slabs. And a familiar pattern was engraved on them.

"It is the altar of God that we serve," the Ogre explained.

"...Not again," Lee Shin mumbled.

"Again? What do you mean?” the Ogre asked.

"No, nothing," Lee Shin replied.

* * *

"Oh! You’re finally back! Did everything go well?” Gorgin asked.

"Yes. I'll show you a decent piece of work soon," Lee Shin said.

"I'm looking forward to that,” Gorgin replied.

Lee Shin had returned to the castle and had dinner with Gorgin just like any other day.

"I encountered another tribe outside," Lee Shin muttered.

"What? Did something happen?" Gorgin asked, surprised at the sudden story.

"They attacked me, but I'm not that weak to be beaten. Anyway, they asked me if I'm with the Goblins, so I just ignored them and killed them all. But what happened between the Goblins and the tribe which lives near the mountain ranges?” Lee Shin asked.

"...Well, many tribes know about this rumor, not just the Goblins. They say that we drove them out and took this place, but that is not true. The premise was wrong in the first place," Gorgin explained.

"Is there a backstory?" Lee Shin asked.

"Yes, that's right. It was us Goblins who have been deprived of our daily lives. They took us and offered us to the God they believed in. We were victimized," Gorgin explained.

After listening to Gorgin's long lament, Lee Shin returned to his room and was lost in thought. The perspectives of both sides were completely different. Who was telling the truth and who was lying? Or were they both lying to Lee Shin?

Two more days had passed since then. Gorgin seemed to have opened up quite a lot to Lee Shin, but Lee Shin could still sense that Gorgin was still hiding something deep inside.

Lee Shin could figure out where the underground prison was and what kind of guys were locked up there, but Gorgin never let Lee Shin visit that place. Lee Shin had even seen Gorgin's Titan, but that was it. The guards watched out for strangers, and Lee Shin could not figure out where the Titans were stored.

The best possibility was to kill Gorgin before he got on the Titan or to destroy the Titan, so it could not operate. However, the latter seemed impossible. Moreover, it seemed like something could be resolved if Lee Shin were to see the man who was imprisoned underground. However, that also was not possible. Lee Shin knew that he had to make Gorgin open up to him entirely.

Beep— Beep— Beep— Beep—

Suddenly, there was a warning sound that rang inside the castle. Chaos erupted inside the castle in an instant.

"What's the matter!" Gorgin asked.

A soldier approached Gorgin and informed him of the situation.

"The Ogres are approaching in large numbers! There’s an invasion into the citadel!" the soldier shouted.

"What?" Gorgin exclaimed.

Gorgin started to look more serious. Nevertheless, there was no fear of defeat on Gorgin's face.

"Put the Titan troops on standby. Get ready to defend the citadel! We're going to protect it!?Kieeek!” Gorgin shouted.

"What's wrong with them all of a sudden?” Lee Shin approached Gorgin and asked.

"I don't know either, but don't worry. They won't even get through the gates,” Gorgin replied.

"Is that so? Will you be fighting as well?” Lee Shin asked.

Gorgin stared at Lee Shin with suspicion when Lee Shin asked that question. It seemed like Gorgin was trying to examine Lee Shin. In fact, Gorgin was suspicious of Lee Shin about the situation.

"I don't think it will be so big a battle that I need to step up. How about you?" Gorgin asked.

"I will help them. I'll wipe them out," Lee Shin answered.

Gorgin's suspicion on Lee Shin eased slightly at the unexpected answer.

"There’s no need for you to do that,” said Gorgin.

"No sir, please send me to the wall," Lee Shin asked.

"I should not be doing that to my guests. Why don’t you just watch the power of our hextech?” Gorgin suggested.

The Goblins were busy outside, trying to protect the castle. Gorgin and Lee Shin rushed to the wall. As Lee Shin got to the wall, he could see a huge number of Ogres that gathered. ‘That's quite a lot,’ thought Lee Shin.

Eeughhaaa—!

The Ogre that was in the lead let out a strong roar. That single roar raised the morale of the other Ogres to its maximum.

"They are approaching!"

"Shoot them!"

"Just kill them all!"

The hextech citadel was a place where various hextech were combined, starting from the walls. No matter how numerous and strong the Ogres were, they were not enough to handle them.

"Ha… the inferior ones are struggling," Lilian muttered.

The bat, which was not properly visible because it was behind the Ogre, now sat on the Ogre’s head, flapping its small wings. The Ogre momentarily flinched at the sensation of something landing on his head, but did not respond much. The Ogre just maintained a serious look. The Ogre moved around more carefully.

"What are those?”

"Are those Skeletons?"

Behind the Ogre and the bat, there appeared two Skeletons. The Goblins seemed a little surprised by the appearance of these unexpected enemies, but that was it. Their hextech cannons were still aiming at the Ogres.

"Kieeek!?Who cares about those Skeletons? Just shoot them already! Shatter the bones and grind them to dust!”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Kwaaang—!

There were huge explosions and dust scattered where the cannonball hit. It turned the Ogres into bloody flesh, yet those Ogres still pushed through even if they were hit. There were tribes that flocked to climb the high wall, but they could not cross and just died helplessly.

"Lilian! It’s your turn now!" May cried because he could not wait any longer.

"See how powerful the blood is on the battlefield," Lilian muttered.

Shortly after the siege had begun, blood had already been scattered everywhere. All that blood rose into the air and turned into different types of missiles.

"Blood brings more blood..." Lilian muttered.

Dozens of missiles made up of blood flew and detonated the hextech cannons that were installed throughout the walls.

Kwa-kwa-kaw-kwang!

"Kieeek! Kik!?No way! Our cannons got destroyed!”

"Run away! The enemy is casting spells!”

"B-b-blood! Blood is coming! Kieek!”

Lilian looked at the Ogre with an arrogant face as she looked at the Goblins, who were terrified by a single blood spell.

"Did you see that?" Lilian asked arrogantly.

"Keurek... t-t-that’s amazing,” replied the Ogre.

"Now, take care of rest," Lilian muttered.

Lilian got off the Ogre’s head and climbed onto May's back. The next moment, the Ogre, as if the shackles had been loosened, suddenly started to strike the walls.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Due to the Ogre’s club that was striking at every instant it could, the gate shook as if it was about to collapse at any moment.

"Kiek! Kieeek!”

"The gates are falling down!"

"Stop the Ogre!"

As the Ogre's mana got more intense, the gate started to crack and it finally collapsed. The tribes were thrilled and rushed to the wall, twisting and folding their bodies to squeeze into the castle.

"Stop them!"

"Defend properly!"

The war situation had changed in an instant. It was not a hard thing for a strong player to turn the game around.

"I don’t think there’s a need for us to join," May said.

"The Ogres are fired up!" Warrie replied.

May and Warrie had a conversation as they watched the Ogres’ siege.

"Kreahhh! The gates have collapsed! Kill the Goblins!" The Ogre laughed, satisfied, and roared again.

Since the gates had collapsed, it was now only a matter of time before the Goblins were defeated.

* * *

Gorgin had seemed relaxed, even when he went up the wall and saw the tribe approaching. However, he could not get rid of the momentary anxiety that he had felt when he saw the Ogre in the lead and the Skeletons behind him. And he was right.

“I can’t believe the Skeletons are capable of using those spells. I never knew that there were such guys like that,” Gorgin said, gritting his teeth.

"Get the Titan troops on the line!" Gorgin's voice was filled with anger.

"And have the Destroyer on standby. I am going to kill them all!” Gorgin shouted.

Gorgin's castle lead class Titan, Destroyer, was finally making an appearance. And Lee Shin’s mouth turned into a smile as he watched everything from the side.