Cracked Stone Pass.
The ruins of the collapsed mine lay like a massive scar across the depths of the pass. The slaves still labored numbly beneath the whistling overseers' whips, hunched over as they carried heavy stones.
At the edge of the camp, the flap of a tent was violently thrown open. Several human mercenaries staggered backward out of it, their faces full of fear. They soon vanished down the path leading outside, cursing under their breaths.
Hammer Bone's towering figure ducked out of the tent. His thick arms were folded across his chest as he watched the mercenaries flee, letting out a dull snort through his nostrils.
"They swallowed the Legion's bounty, botched the job, and still had the nerve to ask for more. Human skin is thicker than a fortress wall."
A Goblin Shaman in filthy robes hurriedly sidled over, rubbing his hands as he chuckled. "You're right, Lord Hammer Bone. Those humans simply can't be relied upon."
"I say they pocketed the money themselves, then made up nonsense about an Undead Lord and a drake to report back. What decent goods could there be in that dump called East Swamp? Nothing but a few lowly Slimes."
Before he could finish, Hammer Bone's rough hand shot out and lifted him before his eyes as though he were a chick.
Steam seemed to puff from Hammer Bone's nostrils as he glared at him. "What do you mean by that? Are you questioning whether I can beat a few Slimes?"
"I told you, those weren't ordinary Slimes!"
At the mention of those slippery green figures, an inexplicable irritation and headache surged up within him.
For the past few nights, he had dreamed of being toyed with by those Slimes in all sorts of ridiculous ways, then being pointed at and