Chapter 382: Refusing to Save the Dying
"Master, where are we going now?" The Dragonblood Orc was riding high on adrenaline, both hands gripping Slaughter, runes swirling across his body, with a crowd of mercenaries trailing behind. Corpses littered the path wherever they went—this was pure ecstasy, a feeling the Dragonblood Orc had never experienced before...
"We're going to have a chat with Saedus." Leon's face was dark, his tone foul.
"Huh?"
"Huh what? Hurry up and shake off those tails. Do you really think you're a Sky Rank Sword Saint who can charge in and out of thousands of Frostwolves? Look around you—the Frostwolves are piling up. When all several thousand of them surround us, even if you had ten Slaughters, you'd never cut your way out..."
"No way..." The Dragonblood Orc, who'd been basking in his triumph, was brought crashing back to reality by Leon's bucket of cold water. He glanced around and nearly pissed himself—Frostwolves packed the landscape, surging forward in endless waves. There had to be at least a thousand at a glance.
And more Frostwolves were still eyeing their way...
Shrill howls, icy winds—suddenly, the Dragonblood Orc was utterly dumbstruck. Was this supposed to be fun? He was just passing by, minding his own business! Weren't the mercenaries supposed to be their enemies?
Wait, the mercenaries...
Only now did the Dragonblood Orc snap to his senses.
Shit, all the mercenaries are behind me now!
At this moment, over a hundred mercenaries trailed the Dragonblood Orc like a tail, sticking close behind him. If he went east, they followed east; if he turned west, they turned west. The whole procession moved like a mighty, orderly dragon—almost as if the Dragonblood Orc were their commander.
By now, even the densest Dragonblood Orc knew he'd been made into a meat shield...
The problem was, he couldn't shake this tail. The Dragonblood Orc was powerful, sure, but in the dense Frostwolf pack, every step forward was a struggle. Unless he suddenly sprouted wings, there was no way he'd lose this long, trailing tail...
So the Dragonblood Orc had no choice but to cast a pleading look at Leon.
"Master..."
"You'll pay for this later..." Leon snapped, but after cursing, he rummaged through his pocket and tossed the Dragonblood Orc a bottle of Grandmaster's Elixir. "You've got three minutes. If you can't break through in three minutes, you can look forward to being buried by Frostwolves..."
"Y-yes..." The Dragonblood Orc didn't dare slack off. He fumbled with the cap and gulped down the Grandmaster's Elixir in one go.
Suddenly, the Dragonblood Orc felt Slaughter grow much lighter in his hands. What used to require both hands to wield, he could now swing around with just one.
But more importantly...
The Dragonblood Orc could clearly see vast swathes of runes pouring out from within his own body. They glimmered with golden light, radiating astonishing power. At a glance, it looked as if he was clad in armor made entirely of runes, shielding him completely from harm.
He stood there, dumbfounded, feeling unimaginable strength flooding his body. For a moment, he had no idea how to react. He glanced at the rune armor encasing him, then at his hands, now effortlessly swinging Slaughter. After a long pause, he finally let out a furious roar and charged straight into the Frostwolf pack.
"Sorry, folks, this is where the free ride ends. We've got business to attend to." Leon cast a Haste spell, darting into the Frostwolf pack and vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Leon and the Dragonblood Orc managed to escape, but the hundred-plus mercenaries behind them weren’t so lucky. Caught off guard, they were instantly surrounded by the surging Frostwolves. When they’d fought separately, they only faced small groups of dozens or hundreds, but hitching a ride together had made things worse—now, they were trapped by thousands.
In no time, the mercenaries behind them were cursing and struggling for their lives.
"Damn it! Why won’t you let us follow you?"
"Yeah! In times like this, we should stick together. Selfish bastards like you are a disgrace to Auckland!"
"Enough! Shut up already. Complaining won’t help. Can’t you see? That human mage isn’t worth squat in a fight—he can barely save himself. Talking to him is pointless. The only one who can actually take on the Frostwolves is that orc..."
Of course, there were a few sharp-eyed mercenaries who noticed Leon hadn’t lifted a finger the whole time...
And sure enough, with that reminder, the rest of the mercenaries finally caught on.
"Yeah, that orc brother—hey, orc brother!" In their panic, the mercenaries didn’t care about race anymore. As they fought desperately against the Frostwolves, they shouted at the Dragonblood Orc, "Orc brother, help us out, will you? We’re with Auckland’s Temple Knight Mercenary Corps! If you save us this time, you’ll always have friends in Auckland. And when we get back, we’ll make sure you’re handsomely rewarded!"
"Master, are they... are they really trying to stick with us?" The Dragonblood Orc spun Slaughter like a windmill, mowing down Frostwolves in droves, but still found it hard to believe as he turned to Leon for confirmation.
Even for someone as cowardly as the Dragonblood Orc, he couldn’t quite make sense of the mercenaries’ behavior...
"Now you get it, huh..." Leon smirked. He knew these mercenaries all too well—old hands, every one of them. If there’s even a sliver of hope to survive, they’ll do whatever it takes, no matter how shameless.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it..." The Dragonblood Orc shivered with lingering fear. If the human mage hadn’t warned him, and he’d kept charging with the mercenaries, he might’ve ended up as cannon fodder.
Thinking of this, the Dragonblood Orc shook his head, refusing to pay the mercenaries any more attention. Instead, following Leon’s instructions, he kept swinging Slaughter and fought his way forward.
"Bastard, and you call yourself human!" Watching their last lifeline slip away, the mercenaries erupted in rage. To them, the orc’s refusal to help was all the fault of that damned mage.
"You heartless bastard, you’re worse than an orc! If I make it back to Auckland alive, I’ll make you pay!"
For a moment, the mercenary corps was nothing but a chorus of curses.
Too bad Leon and the Dragonblood Orc couldn’t hear a word of it...
After drinking the Dragon Power Elixir, the Dragonblood Orc’s strength more than doubled. Leon reckoned that, right now, the orc could even go toe-to-toe with a Sword Saint. With terrifying power and impenetrable rune defenses, he was like a walking tank, swinging the thousand-pound Slaughter and carving a bloody path through the Frostwolf horde.
"Huff... huff... huff..." Three minutes later, the effects of the elixir faded, but the two had already broken free of the Frostwolf encirclement. The Dragonblood Orc collapsed, utterly spent, gasping for breath.
Leon knew these were the aftereffects of the Dragon Power Elixir, so he didn’t rush the orc. Instead, he released another Wizard’s Eye, searching for that fleeting gray shadow from before...
The battlefield was a sea of white—everywhere Leon looked, it was Frostwolves as far as the eye could see, not a trace of gray. Clearly, the Hidden Wolf had disguised itself as one of the Frostwolves again, hiding among the snowy masses...
But Leon wasn’t worried; this time was different. He’d already used his Magitek Array to lock onto the Hidden Wolf’s aura. No matter how many tricks it tried, it couldn’t escape the array’s tracking.
All Leon had to do was spend a little time and pick it out from the Frostwolf pack...
"Got it!" Sure enough, as soon as he cast the third Wizard’s Eye, the Magitek Array locked onto that familiar aura.
"Hm?"
Then Leon froze for a second.
That’s Hidden Wolf for you...
Even playing hide-and-seek, it knew how to pick the perfect spot...
With the third Wizard’s Eye, Leon could clearly see the battle between the Wolf King and the Sword Saint growing fiercer. The Sword Saint finally unleashed his magic weapon avatar—the thunder-charged longsword crackled with arcs of electricity, sizzling with every swing. Perched on his shoulder was a Thunderbird, its body wreathed in lightning.
This Thunderbird wasn’t large—compared to the one Leon had killed in the Vorn Alchemical Lab, it was like an ant to an elephant. But when it came to sheer power, this one felt far stronger than the last...
With the Thunderbird’s help, the Sword Saint clawed his way back from the brink. For now, neither he nor the Wolf King could break the stalemate...
But aside from Leon, no one noticed the pure white Frostwolf prowling the edge of the pack. It looked fierce, howling and casting spells, but from start to finish, it never once approached the heart of the battlefield...
"Tell me, Dragonblood Orc, between you and that guy, who’s the bigger coward?"
"..."
After mocking the Dragonblood Orc, Leon didn’t linger. He cast Elemental Avatar, transforming into a Frost Sprite. Surrounded by a sea of Frostwolves, every howl sent ripples through the frost element—perfect cover for Leon’s transformation. Two quick Frost Flashes and he crossed hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye...
He kept a Frost Spear ready in hand. As soon as he was in range, he’d pierce that cunning Hidden Wolf.