Ogre

Rumble...

It shook again... Has the World Gate still not been destroyed...?

Drowsy Sun Lei was jolted awake by the earthquake once more and secretly let out a sigh.

Sun Lei tried to move his body, only to feel a wave of excruciating pain. His body felt as though it had fallen apart, leaving him completely powerless.

I still can't move... But the reinforcements should be arriving soon, right...?

Sun Lei felt himself growing sleepier and sleepier, his consciousness about to sink into slumber again.

Buzz...

A faint sound rang out. An invisible ripple swept over Sun Lei, briefly bringing him back to his senses.

So warm... Is this a Healing Spell...?

Sun Lei felt the pain inside his body rapidly fade, and a surge of excitement rose in his heart.

Could the City Guard have arrived as reinforcements?

He wanted to open his eyes, but the heavy drowsiness struck again...

"The healing is complete, Captain."

Zhao Xiaoqin withdrew her hand and lowered her head as she spoke softly to Sun Lei.

"Ah, thank you, Xiaoqin."

Sun Lei nodded at Zhao Xiaoqin and slowly moved his arm before putting his arm guard back on.

However, the arm guard was now covered in cuts of all sizes. It looked unusable.

"Um, I'm sorry, Captain! You wouldn't have been injured if it weren't for me."

Zhao Xiaoqin raised her head and looked at Sun Lei apologetically, her face filled with guilt.

Remembering the dangerous scene she had just experienced, her body began trembling uncontrollably, still shaken by the aftermath.

If Sun Lei hadn't reached out and stopped the Goblin that had pretended to be dead and launched a surprise attack, she would already have died beneath the cleaver that had come crashing down on her head.

"It's fine. You're new to the team, and you're a support-class professional. As a professional's second life, I would have protected you regardless."

Sun Lei spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, completely failing to notice the flash of disappointment that crossed Zhao Xiaoqin's face.

He stood up and walked toward the three captains arguing nearby.

"If we continue forward, there's no way we can deal with the next wave of monsters. The Goblins' strength and equipment are getting better and better!"

Before he even drew close, Sun Lei heard Wang Xian's anxious voice.

"Look at the state of the team. Nearly half of our people are injured, and we haven't even seen the World Gate!"

Wang Xian stood before Luo Wei and Li Wen, angrily going on and on.

His suppressed growls immediately drew the attention of the team members cleaning up the battlefield.

"It's only half. No one's dead, and the Priests in our team can handle it!"

Li Wen frowned and glared at Wang Xian, his expression displeased and mocking.

"If you didn't want to come down here, you should have left when we voted instead of stubbornly staying."

"Could it be because you've reached the limit on how many times you can refuse missions, and you can't bear to give up that little bonus?"

The greatest taboo during a mission was disagreement!

Before the mission, Wang Xian could object, refuse the mission, or even turn around and leave.

What he absolutely shouldn't do was pour cold water on everyone at a time like this and lower the team's morale.

Li Wen had always looked down on Wang Xian, especially since he was one of the temporary City Guard members like himself.

Two years ago, incidents involving World Gates suddenly increased sharply, causing the number of City Guard personnel nationwide to dwindle.

Dragon Country had proposed several solutions at the time, one of which was recruiting temporary workers from among adventurers.

Wang Xian had joined at that time with his own adventurer team.

Later, he signed a long-term contract with the City Guard and became a temporary captain within the City Guard.

As a temporary employee, he had the right to refuse missions.

However, if he refused too many times, his adventurer rating would drop. Not only would his pay be completely docked, but the City Guard would also stop hiring him.

"Afraid of dying, with nothing but money in your eyes, and unwilling to care about whether the residents live or die. So this is what adventurers are like."

The mockery in Li Wen's eyes deepened, and his tone was filled with contempt.

"You..."

Wang Xian's expression changed drastically. He clenched both fists, wishing he could rush forward and punch Li Wen!

But in the end, he held himself back, his face flushed as he snorted coldly.

Luo Wei looked at the two glaring furiously at each other, sighed, and stepped between them before speaking calmly:

"Calm down. We have to find the World Gate. The follow-up reinforcements will arrive soon. If we don't deal with this World Gate quickly, the City Guard Magic Array will be in danger!"

"Reinforcements? Will we still be alive by the time they arrive...?"

A bitter, almost smiling expression appeared on Wang Xian's face as he muttered under his breath.

Luo Wei glanced at Wang Xian and sighed inwardly. He knew Wang Xian wasn't the kind of person Li Wen thought he was.

He had looked into Wang Xian's circumstances. His mother had been bedridden for years, he had three children under ten, and his wife had left him long ago.

The entire burden of the family had fallen on this man who wasn't even thirty.

A job where nothing went wrong, where he wouldn't get injured, and where he could earn plenty of money—how could such a job be easy to find?

Especially in an age like this...

So Wang Xian could only become a cautious, even timid man who cherished his life, all for the sake of his family.

Luo Wei said nothing. He reached out and patted Wang Xian on the shoulder.

"Captain Luo, does the reconnaissance team have any news? I feel the Magic Power in the air growing more and more agitated. The World Gate should be nearby."

Sun Lei came over at that moment, glanced around, and asked.

His voice interrupted everyone's conversation.

"Not yet. The people from the reconnaissance team haven't returned."

Luo Wei turned back to Sun Lei as he spoke, his brows unconsciously furrowing.

"Strange... Logically speaking, even if they hadn't found anything, someone should have come back to report by now..."

The moment Luo Wei finished speaking, a sound like tearing cloth came from beside him!

Riiip—

A figure silently fell out of space and crashed heavily to the ground!

Bang!

Luo Wei turned his eyes and saw who it was. His pupils immediately shrank violently!

"Huo Lian!"

"Retreat!"

Huo Lian's roar drowned out Luo Wei's voice. She struggled to stand and hurriedly said:

"The entire reconnaissance team is dead. The monsters that came out are incredibly strong. We can't handle them..."

"Sister Huo Lian!"

Sun Lei caught Huo Lian as she collapsed toward him. Only then did he realize in horror that both of Huo Lian's arms had been severed!

"Sister Huo Lian, your arms!"

"Xiaoqin..."

Sun Lei hurriedly turned and shouted toward Zhao Xiaoqin, but Huo Lian stopped him.

"Forget about that. Get our people to retreat, now!"

"Huo Lian, what happened?"

Luo Wei had already given the order to retreat. Only then did he frown and ask Huo Lian what had happened.

Fear appeared on Huo Lian's face. Recalling what she had just seen, she spoke with a tremble:

"Ogres! Goblin Cavalry! There are over a hundred of them on the other side of the World Gate!"

"What?!"

Luo Wei's eyes widened in shock, and he let out an exclamation!

The other three captains, along with the team members who had heard Huo Lian, all felt their breathing seize.

"Could this be a large-scale World Gate? How could such powerful monsters suddenly appear?!"

"Ogres... Aren't those Gold-grade monsters...?"

"Goblin Cavalry? Aren't they upper-level Goblins who are all Silver Rank?"

"We only have four captains and Huo Lian at Silver Rank. There's no way we can win!"

The surrounding team members cried out in shock one after another. They stopped bothering to clean anything up and hurriedly turned to flee!

At that moment, a shrill scream caused the entire team to freeze.

"It's—it's an ogre!!!"