Chapter 72: The Ogre (3)

After the battle was resolved, they quickly cleaned up the battlefield, and the group continued tracking along the trail.

During the next part of the journey, Su Lun did not encounter any more Gnolls. After crossing a hill, he finally saw the Ogre camp.

“If I had known, I would have bought a monocular telescope,” Su Lun thought with some frustration as he looked at the distant Ogre camp. Although this world was generally at a medieval level, the presence of Wizards often brought about some novel items.

For example, glass had been created by Wizards long ago, mainly for use in experimental vessels. Telescopes fell into this category as well. An ordinary telescope cost around twenty Gold Nar, but if enhanced with special magical effects, the price could soar to thousands or even more Gold Nar—such as those with Eagle Eye or Darkvision spells applied.

The Ogre camp was set up on a mountainside. At that moment, numerous Kobolds, Goblins, and Gnolls were building the camp under the whips of the Ogres. At the foot of the mountain, tall Gnolls were chopping down trees. These logs, after minimal shaping, were transported up to the camp on the mountainside.

Thick logs were driven into the ground one by one. Under the lash of whips, Kobolds and Goblins cleared away stones and piled them into a Stone Wall. It was clear that the Ogres intended to build a fortress there.

Inside the Ogre camp, columns of black smoke rose. Even from a distance, the massive forge was visible. Several large Ogres were forging weapons. Though the craftsmanship of these Ogre blacksmiths was rough, relying on the Ogres’ strength, as long as the weapons were sturdy, durable, and heavy enough, they became killing machines in their hands.

Su Lun’s expression turned serious. The scale of this camp suggested there were at least a hundred Ogres inside; if luck was bad, there could be up to two hundred. Combined with the even greater numbers of Goblin, Gnoll, and Kobold slaves, the strength of the entire Ogre camp was formidable.

The camp was more than halfway completed. Given the Ogres’ speed, it wouldn’t be long before this simple fortress was finished. Although the Ogre fortress appeared ugly and haphazardly constructed, it was built from thick logs and reinforced with a Stone Wall made of piled stones. There was no doubt about its sturdiness.

There were many laboring slaves. Several slaves had been nailed to stakes, and none dared slack off. If any were caught idling, the Ogre overseers would whip them fiercely. With the Ogres’ monstrous strength, a single lash could split the skin of even a Gnoll, while Goblins and Kobolds would lose half their lives.

Slaves who became unable to work were not discarded; instead, the Ogres killed them and used them as food. The Ogres weren’t worried about a shortage of labor—if too many slaves died, they could simply capture another batch from the Wilderness, as there were plenty of monsters out there.

An Ogre Tribe of one to two hundred was already quite sizable. More importantly, such a tribe was likely to include an Ogre Mage. It was important to note that Ogre Mages were not easy to deal with. Unlike many Spellcasters who had weak bodies, Ogre Mages were both magically and martially proficient, possessing strong physiques along with considerable spellcasting abilities.

Although Ogre Mages knew only a limited number of spells, they could essentially cast them instantly without incantations, making them much stronger than most human Wizards. Without special training and practice, human Wizards found it difficult to master instant spellcasting.

Ogre Mages preferred close combat. Besides being Spellcasters, they were also skilled Warriors in combat. Additionally, Ogre Mages were highly intelligent. While ordinary Ogres had an intelligence of around five—even lower than that of a wolf—Ogre Mages were completely different, typically having an intelligence of sixteen or higher.

“You all hide here. I’ll go closer to observe,” Su Lun said after a quick look, ordering the Barbarian Guard to stay behind as he prepared to scout alone.

“Boss, you stay. Let us do the scouting!”

“Yeah, boss, let us go!”

As soon as Su Lun finished speaking, the Barbarian Warriors objected one after another. They were well aware of the Ogres’ strength. Even though they had easily killed two Ogres earlier, if they faced them head-on, the Ogres would not be easy to defeat.

“Enough. All of you stay here. I don’t take these Ogres seriously,” Su Lun commanded firmly. To be honest, if he went all out, he could potentially win against these Ogres. But this wasn’t a game; monsters wouldn’t just run away.

If he couldn’t eliminate all the Ogres in one sweep, the scattered Ogres would pose an even greater threat to the Territory. After all, he couldn’t patrol the Territory at all times, and with such a large area, there would always be places he couldn’t cover. So the best approach was to wipe out the Ogres entirely.

Su Lun put away his spear and disappeared into the grass with a quick movement. Though Ogres seemed clumsy, they were actually quite fast. Moreover, tribes with Ogre Mages could use Bloodthirsty Frenzy. This berserk state was more terrifying than the Barbarian’s Berserk; although the weakness period afterward was longer, few could survive it.

Using the grass for cover, Su Lun quickly reached a spot two hundred meters from the foot of the mountain. From there, getting closer became much harder. Unlike the unprofessional Gnolls, the Ogres had cleared away all the wild grass near the camp.

After observing for a while up close, Su Lun felt a slight weight in his heart. This Ogre Tribe was a formidable opponent. Besides Ogre Warriors, there were also quite a few Ogre Warriors—these larger, more imposing Ogres wielded War Axes.

The War Axes in their hands were bigger and heavier than those used by the Barbarian Warriors. In addition to War Axes, they were equipped with cast iron armor, throwing spears, and heavy throwing axes. By human standards, these Ogre Warriors were already at the Knight-tier.

Most of Su Lun’s Barbarian Guard were at this stage as well, but there were only seventy-one of them in total. Here, the number of Ogre Warriors was at least fifty. On the other side of the camp, inside large iron cages, there were some hefty spike-backed boars—one of the few beasts that Ogres tamed and raised.

These spike-backed boars stood about 1.3 meters tall, with thick hides, sharp tusks in their mouths, and several sharp spines on their backs. Once they Charged, they were like small bulldozers; even the Heavy Cavalry of the human empire avoided colliding with them.