Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”Damn it, they got away! They got away!”

About ten minutes later, Sera burst out of the Dark Magic, furious. Her bare arms were a bloody mess, shredded by the Dagger Cloud.

Those caught in the Dark Magic were completely disoriented. Combined with the interference from the Dagger Cloud, the group was pinned down until the spell was about to expire before they could finally break free.

”We don’t have as many Casters, and we’re not as strong as them,” Victoria said, emerging looking a bit battered. Her Leather Round Shield, which she had bought in Fromm Town, was covered in scratches. ”If they weren’t tied down with so many slaves, they probably would have kept fighting instead of retreating.”

The slavers had almost as many men as they had slaves. Every slaver they lost increased the chance of the slaves escaping or rebelling, which would have made defeating Ron’s group meaningless.

They were merchants, and what they valued most were their goods and merchandise.

”Maybe we can use that to our advantage... HISS...” Ron clutched his face. He didn’t have any armor on his hands to block with and had gotten his cheek sliced by the Dagger Cloud in the darkness.

”They won’t have gone far. They’ll need to rest and recover their Energy to face the ever-present dangers of the Delusional Land.”

”Are you saying we should raid their camp?” Aive asked, troubled. ”But we need to rest too—especially you and Victoria.”

”There’s no time,” Ron said, shaking his head. ”Their Casters outnumber and outclass ours. Letting them recover gives us no advantage. Our only hope now rests with you.”

”Don’t you worry, Chieftain!” Sera spat on the dead Scout on the ground. ”They’ve really pissed me off!”

”I can still fight,” Victoria said, brandishing her Hard Head Hammer. ”Sera, you should drink a Healing Potion. You’re going to be our main force in a bit.”

When they went out, they carried normal Healing Potions. Ron’s Weak Potions were very effective in daily life, but they were a bit of a liability during an adventure.

”Looks like I’m the only one who can’t fight properly,” Ron said with a self-deprecating smile. ”But that’s fine. I have a plan.”

”Whatever the plan is, you’d better make it quick, boss,” Delaford said, emerging from the woods. He was the only one who hadn’t been caught in the Dark Magic. ”The tracks they left are fading fast. If we don’t move now, we’re going to lose them for good!”

Led by Delaford, the group followed the fading trail. Compared to Bakoyannis and her crew, who had ten slaves to watch over, Ron’s party had the advantage of traveling light.

Soon, not far from a puddle formed by collected rainwater, Ron and the others spotted the slave traders again.

”Careful. Alarm Magic,” Victoria said, carefully scanning the area. ”Their Casters must still have some spells left.”

”It’s fine. Can you show me the location of the Alarm Magic?”

Ron surveyed the surrounding terrain and held out his hand to Aive. ”Let me borrow the Gemstone.”

Magic only unleashed its greatest power in the hands of a Caster. Now, it was his turn to use the charge stored within it.

”Isn’t the area of effect too large?” Aive asked, worried. ”It might hurt the innocent...”

Although the situation was desperate, and killing the slaves might be unavoidable, Aive still wanted to prevent it if at all possible.

”No, it won’t,” Ron said with a smile and a wave of his hand. He used the Weaving Introduction to check the Gemstone; it had a full charge. ”My target isn’t the camp. You all are the ones who will attack it.”

”What do we need to do? Just say the word!” Sera’s eyes were fixed on the people in the camp not far away.

”What you need to do is simple: the moment their people start to move, you charge in. What I need to do is make them move.”

It was the old ”lure the tiger from the mountain” stratagem. The trick wasn’t new, but it worked.

”No, you can’t take them on by yourself!” Aive disliked the proposal. ”They’ll capture you!”

Six Lightning Bolts didn’t guarantee safety. A Mage with no cover or protection was still fragile and easily defeated.

”But they’ll want me alive, not dead,” Ron smiled. ”They’ll be interested in my price.”

”As for whether I get caught, and what happens if I do... that’s all up to you.”

With that, Ron put away the Gemstone and, crouching low, headed straight for the enemy camp.

”Damn it all to hell!” In the camp, a guard angrily rubbed his large, bald head. ”Tom’s dead just like that, and we ran away!”

”It wasn’t running away, it was a strategic retreat,” Bakoyannis said, glancing at her subordinate with a grim expression. ”Our primary job is to escort these slaves. Chasing some huge bounty and losing our actual payload is the stupidest thing we could do. If we suffer heavy losses and lose our cargo, do you think escorting one or two of their members back will save us from punishment?”

”That Elf isn’t our boss!”

When Bakoyannis mentioned ”the boss,” several of the men shivered. ”Fine, you’re right. But what about those guys? Are we just going to let Tom’s death go?”

”How could we?” Bakoyannis snorted. ”I never said that. We’ll go back and ask them to send two more squads. I refuse to believe we can’t take them down then!”

”But then we’d have to hand over the bounty,” a Caster said.

”It’s better than losing our men—stop trying to gamble with risk all the time. If you were any good at it, you’d be my equal by now—”

Bakoyannis suddenly shot to her feet. A moment ago, a thread in her mind had snapped—the Alarm Magic she had set up had been triggered!

”DRING-DRING-DRING-DRING-DRING—” Along with the mental trigger, a series of audible alarms rang out.

When the slave traders in the camp looked toward the source of the sound, they saw Ron tiptoeing into the camp, trying to untie a slave.

”Hehehe... Hi?”

Ron gave a little wave. And then Bakoyannis saw it: in Ron’s palm, a bluish-purple Gemstone held down by his thumb suddenly erupted with brilliant electric light!

”Lightning Bolt! See ya!”

Ron deliberately fired the Lightning Bolt into an empty space to avoid the slaves, then turned and ran, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye.

”Idiots! What are you standing around for?” Bakoyannis was both terrified and furious. ”After him!”