Chapter 54: The Ogre's Trail
Chapter 54: The Ogre's Trail
The peculiar glow immediately caught Rain's attention.
He picked up the ore and instantly felt an unusually heavy sensation.
"Ouch! Its density is so high; it might even be heavier than Star Iron!"
After learning mineral identification from Blacksmith Boris, Rain was no longer ignorant about ores.
He first squeezed the ore with all his might, then lightly struck it a few times with his greatsword, producing a faint 'ding ding' sound.
The strange ore remained completely undamaged, further confirming Rain's judgment.
Based solely on its hardness and weight, this strange ore was undoubtedly a special type of mineral.
Moreover, Rain's initial assessment suggested that the value of this strange ore might even surpass that of Boris's Star Iron.
After some thought, Rain decided against keeping the ore for himself.
Even if this ore was extremely valuable, considering his contribution, he was likely to receive it during the distribution of spoils of war without having to ask for anything else.
So, Rain dumped everything from the wooden chest into the large sack.
Then, he carried the heavy sack and found Captain Velen.
"This much?" Velen's eyes widened in surprise as he examined the contents of the sack, his expression filled with astonishment.
"Rain, you're truly the lucky star of our squad!" Seeing Rain's quick success, Velen was at a loss for words and could only shake his head in awe of Rain's good fortune.
"Captain Velen, after the appraisal, during the distribution of spoils, I want this ore," Rain said, taking the stone emitting a hazy soft glow from the sack and handing it to Velen.
"It seems to be a special ore; it's quite rare. No problem!" Although Velen was knowledgeable, his ore identification skills were no better than Rain's; he only knew that it wasn't an ordinary mineral.
"Rain, catch!" Velen directly threw the ore to Rain.
Just as Rain was puzzled, Velen explained, "It's best if you take it now. When we bring the spoils back to town and have the quartermaster appraise them, there's a chance it's possible that it could be assessed and included in the three-tenths to be handed over to the Empire."
"If it's valuable, remember to treat us all to a round of tequila!" Velen patted Rain's shoulder with a smile.
Clearly, in Velen's mind, winning over Rain, the rising star of the Night Watch Squad, was far more important than this special ore.
"Haha, of course, no problem. But..."
Rain understood Captain Velen's good intentions, but he wasn't sure if this distribution was really acceptable. So, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
At that moment, a Night Watch squad member waved at Velen, who was talking to Rain, and shouted, "Captain, come over here!"
The tone suggested that there was an unexpected discovery nearby.
Driven by curiosity, Rain followed Velen over.
On the ground, there was a row of exceptionally noticeable large footprints leading into the depths of the forest. Since they were near a small river, the ground was damp, making the footprints exceptionally clear.
"Ouch! So big!" Rain exclaimed in surprise at the row of footprints before him.
"Four fingers! These are Ogre tracks!!" Unlike Rain's surprise, Velen's expression changed dramatically.
"Rain, we must leave here immediately! Damn it! An Ogre has appeared here, and judging by the situation, this small group of Fiendfin Fishmen was probably driven here by the Ogre."
"Perhaps the Ogre is keeping these fishmen as livestock. If that's the case, and we've killed so many of them..."
"Bad news, we must leave now!"
"Everyone, let's go! Don't collect any more spoils!" Velen immediately called out to the others.
As they hurriedly decided to retreat, it indicated that the Ogre's strength far surpassed theirs.
Soon, the group loaded their spoils onto the packhorse and quickly mounted their horses, ready to return the way they came.
Rain still had some doubts in his mind.
"Since we've discovered the traces of the Ogre, shouldn't we stealthily approach and investigate the situation?"
"Or is it that the Ogre's sense of smell or hearing is extremely sharp, making it impossible to get close?"
"After all, we don't even know the number of Ogres out there."
After the group hastily left the Glimmer Lake area, Rain finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked, "Captain Velen, are Ogres that terrifying?"
Velen glanced at Rain and spoke solemnly, "They're even more terrifying than you can imagine. You've fought the Rampaging Werewolf before, right? Wasn't it incredibly strong?"
"Of course!" Rain nodded, remembering that the Rampaging Werewolf was the strongest enemy he had encountered so far.
"Do you know that if that Rampaging Werewolf encountered a mature Ogre, it would either have to become the Ogre's underling or flee immediately. There's no third option."
"The gap between them is like the difference between a wolf and a brown bear in the forest!" Velen emphasized with a finger.
"That much?" Rain was astonished.
This was completely beyond his expectations. He had thought that Ogres and Werewolves were of similar strength.
Velen nodded and continued, "Yes, Rain, have you heard about the incident in Albero Town some time ago, where a wandering Ogre attacked?"
"I think I've heard about that." Rain recalled the conversation he had overheard upon his arrival in this world, where the pseudo-second-generation mentioned something about Albero Town.
"The Sheriff of Albero Town, Sir Hamza Churlin, is a knight with strength not far off from Sir Hamilton. But that night, he was severely injured by the wandering Ogre."
"If it weren't for the other Night Watch members who risked their lives to distract the Ogre, Sir Hamza would have likely perished."
After hearing Velen's explanation, Rain's eyebrows furrowed. He had always thought that Ogres were just tall and muscular, with great strength but slow reactions. But Velen's description painted a different picture.
Rain didn't know Sir Hamza, but he was aware of Sir Hamilton's capabilities.
If a knight of similar strength to Sir Hamilton couldn't withstand the Ogre, Rain knew he wouldn't stand a chance either, even with his Blacksmith's Strength at level 3.
"It feels like something has been off in the entire Meister County for the past year!" Velen seemed to recall and sighed.
"When we get back, we must immediately report this to Sir Hamilton."
If Rain had felt a sense of accomplishment after his victory at the Fishmen's camp, that feeling had now vanished without a trace.
"The revolution is not yet complete; comrades, we must continue our efforts!"
A famous quote from his past life naturally surfaced in Rain's mind.
(End of Chapter)
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