Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Unlike other Disaster-grade monsters, Ogres were innately bloodthirsty and cruel. They devour their prey, skin and bones, to increase their strength.

With their towering bodies and muscular physiques, even a skilled Elite Knight would have to run upon seeing them.

Not to mention that there were ten such merciless beasts approaching them.

As the Ogres walked towards them, everyone in the scout team tightened their grip on their weapons, ready to attack at any moment.

At this moment, Varys sent a hand signal to Lesley.

Seeing his signal, Lesley imbued mana into her arrows while aiming at one of the Ogres.

When her arrow was close to absorbing the maximum amount of mana it could absorb, she suddenly released it with fearsome power and precision.

Suu!

It traveled so fast that it tore through the air!

Her arrow violently struck an Ogre’s head, causing it to burst like a smashed watermelon.

Schhk!

The monster’s corpse fell to the ground with a heavy ’thud’.

Startled, some Ogres took cover behind the trees, while the others rushed towards where the arrow had been released.

Lesley was playing a big role this time acting as the bait, but she also faced significant danger.

In the face of the approaching beasts, she felt a wave of fear, but she tried to put on a calm facade.

She didn’t want her teammates to think that she was afraid. Her pride as the daughter of a High Elf didn’t allow her to let anyone witness such embarrassing behavior.

Everyone nervously waited for Varys’s signal.

For this ambush to work, they must be perfectly synchronized in their attacks. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to deal much damage to the Ogres.

Varys felt a great deal of pressure, but his mind was unnaturally calm.

Just when the Ogres were about to surround Lesley, he opened his mouth and shouted.

“Attack!”

Hearing his words, everyone quickly took action.

They flanked the Ogres from left to right, attacking them from both sides.

The unexpected appearance of more human warriors caught the Ogres by surprise. They were unable to react in time with some of them receiving critical wounds.

However, only three Ogres were successfully taken down. The remaining six managed to counterattack and pushed back the scouting team with pure aggression.

“Spread out and attack them in different directions!”

“Lesley, take another shot!”

Varys issued a series of commands.

With his quick and timely instructions, the team was able to coordinate their attacks.

While the rest of the team was pulling the Ogres’ attention, Lesley quietly aimed her bow towards her next target.

She gathered the mana in her body and imbued it into her arrow.

Only an arrow powered by mana could penetrate the body of a Disaster-grade monster.

Lesley’s face turned pale as she released her arrow.

Suu!

In the next moment, another Ogre was killed with a huge gaping hole in its chest.

The death of another Ogre made its remaining brethren enraged. They roared furiously while swinging their weapons with ferocious force.

Bang! Bang!

One member of the scouting team was struck by a giant sledgehammer. His helmet was deformed and his head cracked open from the impact.

The poor fellow fell from his horse, his fate unknown.

Everyone saw this, but they couldn’t afford to be distracted.

“Let them exhaust themselves! Try to preserve your mana!” Varys reminded the team, his face grim.

One slight mistake and one of them might be killed.

The Ogres were like frenzied beasts. Despite the injuries that had accumulated in their bodies, their movements didn’t seem to have slowed down. Instead, they had become more aggressive.

“Buy me some time! I can release one more of those mana-imbued arrows!” Lesley shouted while popping a recovery elixir into her mouth.

“Bane, Aldrin, follow me! We will kill one! The rest of you, try to hold down the remaining four!” Varys’s words drifted into their ears.

They were stunned by his commands, but they still moved accordingly.

We must kill another one as quickly as possible!

Varys thought as he urged his horse to charge towards one of the Ogres.

Bane and Aldrin closely followed him, flanking him from either side.

“I will take the front! Attack it from both sides!” Varys instructed while keeping his eyes on their target.

As soon as his words fell, he maneuvered his horse to leap forward while brandishing his sword.

Meanwhile, Bane and Aldrin attacked the Ogre from different directions.

The Ogre’s focus was entirely on Varys so it failed to detect the other two.

It blocked Varys’ attack, but Bane and Aldrin managed to leave deep wounds upon its body.

The beast staggered at the critical blows and Varys took this chance to deliver a slash towards its neck.

Whoosh!

His sword left a trail of blood as it cut off the beast’s head.

After killing the monster, Varys pulled the reins, forcing his horse to turn in another direction. He then pointed his sword at another target and shouted.

“The battle is not over! Let’s go and help the others!”

Hiya!

The five guys who were holding down the four Ogres were already in a desperate situation.

One of the warriors even had an arm cut off, while the rest also had varying degrees of injuries.

“It’s ready! Move out of the way!” Lesley’s voice fell into their ears.

Suu!

Her arrow shot towards an Ogre, but this time, the monster managed to twist its body to avoid a critical hit. However, the arrow still pierced through its leg, leaving a bloody hole that significantly impeded its movements.

I missed!

Lesley’s face fell upon missing her intended target. She aimed for the Ogre’s chest, but the monster was quick enough to evade the fatal blow.

“I will deal with it! You guys kill the remaining three!” Without waiting for their response, Bane rushed towards the injured Ogre.

It’s already severely injured. I can handle this much!

With a snort, he brandished his weapon with pinpoint accuracy. His sword was so fast that each of his slashes left afterimages in the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Shckk! Schhk!

The crippled Ogre couldn’t properly defend itself.

Against Bane’s fearsome attacks, it slowly succumbed to its injuries and fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

Looking at the fallen monster, Bane unhesitatingly stabbed its neck and twisted his sword.

Schhk!

The remaining Ogres were soon dealt with under the relentless attack of the team. The monsters fell one by one, their towering bodies collapsing the the ground.

We did it, but…

Varys was unhappy with the results. One of them was killed and another one had his arm cut off.

To some, it might be a great victory, but he couldn’t accept such results.

It’s my fault. There could have been another way to prevent casualties.

He gritted his teeth while looking at their fallen comrade’s body.

“It’s not your fault.” He felt a hand pressing on his shoulder, making him feel a bit surprised.

He turned his head and saw Bane giving him a comforting glance.

“No.” Varys didn’t agree with him.

“I am the leader of this team. Everyone’s life is my responsibility and his death is my fault.”

Bane sighed while shaking his head. This guy was more stubborn than he had thought.

He jumped off his horse and covered the dead warrior’s body with leaves and grass.

“This man joined this battle knowing that death may come for him. For us barbarians, dying in battle is a glorious moment. You don’t need to feel pity for him. He died a warrior’s way.”

Hearing Bane’s words, everyone felt a wave of emotion.

Aldrin put his hands together and prayed for the warrior’s soul.

The rest of the team also offered their solemn prayers.

After a few minutes, Bane jumped onto his horse and said. “Let’s go. Our task is not done. We can’t stay here forever.”

He then moved his gaze towards the warrior who had his arm cut off and asked. “Are you coming with us?”

The man hesitated for a moment before he replied with a nod. “I will not slow you down.”

“Good!” Bane nodded. He then looked at Varys, as if waiting for him to say something.

Sensing his gaze, Varys took a deep breath and said. “I will give you two minutes to dress your wounds and mask the smell of blood.”

Everyone quickly bandaged their wounds. To mask the scent of blood on their bodies, they smeared their skin with ground grass and herb paste.

When they were about to leave, Lesley looked at Bane and asked.

“What about his body? Are we leaving him here?”

Bane stared deeply at her and replied. “His body will become nourishment to the plants. Even if he is eaten by beasts, it doesn’t matter.”

Lesley didn’t like it, but seeing that the barbarian warriors didn’t seem to mind the arrangement, she no longer said anything.

“If there’s nothing else, let’s move out.” Varys commanded.