Leo started organizing his soldiers for today's hunt. The mindless golem was appointed as the doorman for the Lord's Hall, while Ren was assigned to protect Luna. Leaving the common units behind, the remaining fifteen undead, Malphas, the Captain, and Vespar were ready for the blessing.
Luna was allowed to build in Leo's absence, making better use of their time. Twenty undead laborers focused on building, while River led the human workers in their daily toil.
Leo stood tall, his long trench coat catching the morning light as his silver hair whipped in the wind. The past four days had been a transformation; he was steadily shedding the remnants of his old life to inhabit the persona of a true Sovereign.
[Blessing Initialized: Seeker of Fortune — Duration: 12 Hours] [Heaven's treasures shall descend upon the world. Claim your prize.] [Warning: You are not alone in this pursuit. The indigenous tribes and beasts of the Origin also hunger for evolution.] [Prove your dominance.]
''Oh, a treasure hunt,'' Leo chuckled, a sharp click echoing as he tilted his neck. ''Ira!''
The earth cracked as a ring of hellfire spiraled outward. Ira, the Hell Warhorse, stepped from the inferno, her obsidian coat etched with glowing veins of magma. Steam hissed from her nostrils, and her burning hooves scorched the muddy ground. She lowered her head in a rare show of submission, allowing Leo to mount her.
The Captain looked on with naked envy, his knuckles white around the handle of his hammer. Vespar vanished into the gloom without a word, assuming her role as the hidden blade. Malphas stood at Leo's side, a silent mountain of steel with his crimson cloak snapping in the wind.
''We move deep into the neutral zone before we engage,'' Leo commanded. ''I want no one aware of our strength until it is too late for them to run.''
Above the treeline, the sky fractured. A distant shimmer formed, like a crack in the heavens -followed by the first streak of light falling toward the world below. It was bait for greed.
Leo nudged Ira's flank, and the Hell Warhorse vanished in a burst of fire, leaving molten hoofprints behind as the hunt began.
Kilometers away, a torrential downpour turned the forest floor into a swamp of mud and blood. A treasure had struck the earth here, its impact drawing the local predators. A warband of ogres arrived first -foul, pig-faced creatures with bloated bodies, armed with crude machetes and spears. They tore through the lesser monsters already at the site, roaring with gluttonous joy as they feasted on the raw remains.
At the center of this carnage stood Grakul. Unlike his brothers, he was lean and wore refined, albeit grimy, garments. In his hand, he gripped a staff tipped with a silver gemstone.
Grakul, the clan leader, watched his subordinates with disdain as they gorged themselves.
''Enough gorging, you idiots!'' Grakul snarled. " Establish a perimeter. Scouts to the treeline, now!''
Though they grumbled, the clan feared Grakul's sorcery and obeyed. With twenty ogres guarding the site, Grakul stepped toward the smoking crater. Floating in the center was a bracelet that pulsed with a Rare-grade aura.
''Fortune favors the clever,'' Grakul hissed, reaching out to claim his prize. But his hand froze as the heavy, rhythmic thudding of hooves began to vibrate through the muddy ground.
A dominating neigh tore through the heavy rain, vibrating in the chests of the ogres. While the mindless brutes of the clan snarled in ignorance, Grakul flinched, his instincts screaming of a predator's arrival.
''Who is there?'' Grakul gripped his staff with white knuckles, his eyes darting toward the treeline.
Deep within the rain-slicked forest, a spark of hellfire ignited the gloom. It was followed by a streak of light so fast the ogres could not track it. Before Grakul could shout a command, a demonic warhorse of flame and obsidian stood before him. A pale human in a long trench coat sat atop the beast, his expression one of pure indifference. With a casual motion, the horse lashed out, its hooves shattering the ribs of two ogres and sending them flying into the distant treeline like broken dolls.
Grakul's breath hitched as a mountain of crimson armor materialized behind the rider, followed by the jagged silhouette of a goblin raider and a legion of restless undead.
The ogres, driven by bloodlust and rage, did not wait for orders. They lunged forward, rusted machetes raised high.
''How dare you hurt our brothers!'' the nearest ogre roared, putting his weight into a swing aimed at the horse's flank.
Leo did not even turn his head. 'Too slow,' he thought, watching the clumsy arc of the blade. Before the rusted metal could come close, the very shadows behind him coiled and struck. Vespar appeared like a ghost in the rain, her blade a silver flash that separated the ogre's head from his shoulders in a single heartbeat.
THUDD
The sudden silence following the decapitation was more terrifying than the ogre's roar. Grakul watched the silver mist of rain settle on his dead warrior's neck, his mind racing to comprehend the power gap. 'An assassin of that caliber... and she is just a subordinate?' he thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.
''Wait! We can negotiate!'' Grakul shouted, backing away as Leo's shadow loomed over him.
Leo remained silent, his pale face a mask of regal indifference. He didn't need to speak; his presence alone was a suffocating weight. With a flick of his fingers, the slaughter began in earnest.
Malphas was a whirlwind of destruction. He didn't just kill; he executed. Every swing of his greatsword claimed a life, the heavy blade shearing through thick ogre hide and bone with terrifying ease. Beside him, the Captain was a brutal contrast. He used his hammer to turn the ogres' bloated bodies into pulp, his hybrid strength allowing him to toss the massive creatures around like toys.
Grakul, realizing there would be no mercy, pointed his staff at Leo. The silver gemstone pulsed with a blinding, condensed energy. ''Die, you arrogant human! Arcane Blast!''
The air crackled as the spell gathered, but Ira was faster. The Hell Warhorse struck the ground with a burning hoof, sending a ripple of molten energy through the mud. The sheer heat disrupted the aether in the air, causing Grakul's spell to backfire. The explosion threw the ogre leader into the dirt, his wand smoking and useless.
BOOM!
Leo nudged Ira forward, the horse's hooves hissing as they touched the wet ground. He looked down at Grakul from his high vantage point, his deep, dark red eyes glowing with a faint black halo.
''A pig using sorcery, interesting,'' Leo chuckled, the sound devoid of any real warmth.
Grakul spat a mouthful of thick, dark blood, his fingers digging into his shattered ribs. 'I was a fool to challenge such a monster,' he thought grimly. 'Will he show mercy if I beg?'
He surveyed the remains of his warband. Half were already silent corpses. While the uncommon undead lacked the overwhelming power of Malphas or the Captain, they moved with a hive-mind precision that made them impossible to escape.
" Stop,'' Leo commanded, his voice cutting through the heavy rain. Malphas's massive blade halted a mere centimeter from the throat of a whimpering ogre.
''Do you have a name?'' Leo asked, his gaze fixed on the wounded leader.
''Grakul,'' the ogre wheezed, forcing himself to stand despite the agony.
Leo slid off Ira's back, landing silently in the mud. He stood before Grakul, hands tucked casually into his coat pockets, a small, dangerous smile playing on his lips. ''Now, Mr. Grakul. I am willing to trade your life for something of equal value. Information, perhaps? Or a treasure that rivals the worth of your own head.''
Grakul swallowed hard, his eyes instinctively darting toward the Rare-grade bracelet Leo had just claimed from the crater.
''Not mine, of course,'' Leo added, his tone dropping several degrees into a lethal chill. ''I was referring to something I do not already own.''