Ogres!

Demon Hunter Black Wolf pricked up his ears, bent down, and pressed close to the grass, listening carefully to every sound among the trees and bushes.

The Demon Hunter's first trial, the Dandelion Trial, had strengthened their bodies while also granting them extraordinary senses. However, those senses were actually only effective against magical creatures.

To ordinary people, their ears were simply a little sharper.

When it came to dealing with monsters, the Demon Hunter profession was the strongest.

Every profession had its own strengths, just as society was made up of all kinds of people, not just one kind.

The Knight profession was indeed the mainstream on this continent.

However, when it came to hunting monsters, the Knight profession was far less specialized than the Demon Hunter profession.

"There's a sound. That's right, it's definitely something enormous. It might be a troll, but it could also be an ogre."

"They're... below..."

Everyone listened intently.

Yveta looked curiously at Demon Hunter Black Wolf, wondering where the monster was.

Demon Hunter Black Wolf wore a strange expression as he turned to face them. "They're right beneath our feet."

"There should be a natural cavern under this ground."

"Follow me."

Everyone followed Black Wolf deeper into the woods. After walking a little over a hundred meters, they found a dark, deep opening ahead, about half the width of a carriage.

"Here," Black Wolf said. "The place where your sister disappeared is less than a hundred meters from this ogre cave. It seems very likely they took her."

"But ogres shouldn't be capable of making an entire manor lose specific memories."

The Old Witch sneered. "His father was a Formal Knight. Even a Formal Witch would have a hard time erasing a Formal Knight's memories, and making everyone in an entire manor forget something is even more absurd."

"That's impossible."

"To make everyone in an entire manor lose their memories would require an immense amount of magic. Ogres and trolls don't have that kind of power."

"I don't have that kind of ability, either."

Yveta fell into thought.

If even the Old Witch lacked that ability, then the ogres probably couldn't have done it, either.

So what had happened to leave Branton in this bizarre situation?

"Forget all that! If I rescue my sister, won't everyone remember her again?" Branton said excitedly. "And she was this close the whole time."

"I've been wandering around here every day, and I never knew."

His face twisted with rage, his eyes bloodshot. He drew the sword from his back. "I'm going to kill every ogre in this cavern."

With that, he jumped straight into the pitch-black cavern, vanishing into the darkness.

Yveta was dumbfounded. The others had even less expected the baron's son to do something so foolish.

Yveta said, "He's a little too impulsive. Black Wolf, what do you think we should do? You're the expert when it comes to dealing with monsters."

Black Wolf nodded. "Whether they're ogres or trolls, these magical creatures don't know how to set traps."

"Besides, their living requirements are similar to humans'. Since they can live in this cavern, it should be safe for us, too."

"We can go in right away."

"Your Highness, use this."

Black Wolf tossed Yveta a short sword a little longer than a dagger. "This is my last spare weapon. Your Highness, you're in good shape. Once we're inside, you don't have to rely only on magic—you can use this short sword to defend yourself, too. When we have time, I should teach you some swordsmanship."

Yveta caught the short sword. "Thank you."

Black Wolf was right.

Magic had strengthened his body. Even his physical abilities alone were superhuman.

It would be a waste not to make good use of that advantage.

They entered the cavern one after another.

The entrance wasn't a sheer drop; it was a slope about two hundred meters long.

It was dark the whole way.

However, the Hearthstone Great Witch lit a candle, illuminating the cavern.

Yveta kept his head lowered, careful not to step into a deep pit or onto loose stones and cause an accident.

They walked for a while, but Branton was nowhere to be seen.

"Branton shouldn't be able to move that fast," Yveta said.

Black Wolf wasn't surprised. "Of course he can't move that fast. We're moving slowly even with a candle. He had no light at all, so there's no way he could've disappeared this quickly."

"Based on my experience, the ogres probably caught him as soon as he came in."

"The ogres took him deeper into the cave."

"..." Yveta.

Well, then.

So you'd already guessed Branton might get caught the moment he went in.

Still, that made sense. Black Wolf had probably dealt with plenty of similar situations, so he always knew what to expect.

They walked a little farther and heard the gentle rush of water, followed by a noise like a volcanic eruption—or perhaps the rumbling of a tractor starting up.

Black Wolf picked up his pace.

Yveta and the others hurried after him.

There was an underground river ahead.

The cavern connected to an underground river, and the source of the terrifying noise turned out to be several enormous creatures sleeping beside it.

The noise was just their snoring.

Each of the enormous creatures looked like a Little Giant. Their skin was somewhere between pale and blue, and their faces were as round as dinner plates. When they breathed through their open mouths, bits of meat clung to their teeth.

The strangest thing was their hands.

The last joints of their fingers were all as swollen as if they'd been stung by wasps. As a result, the second and third joints looked extremely thin.

"Those are... They're definitely ogres," Black Wolf whispered.

"Ogres are nocturnal creatures, and they fear light. Under the sunlight, they're all blind. That's why their tribes usually migrate through underground rivers and caverns."

Leili questioned him. "But these monsters, the ogres, haven't appeared in the Viscount Ambrose for many years. Why have they shown up now?"

The Old Witch sneered. "You humans are far too arrogant."

"Who among you still remembers that, in ancient times, the Ambrose Basin was a gathering place for magical creatures, and ogres were once one of the largest tribes here?"

"You did defeat those tribes, but you never wiped them out. They simply went into hiding for a time when they saw how powerful human forces had become."

"If the ogres are suddenly reappearing, then something major must have happened in the Viscount Ambrose, making these monsters who've been hiding in the sewers think they can come out and stir up trouble."

Yveta frowned. He had a knack for picking out the key points in what others said.

He'd had this knack in his previous life, too, and it had given him a great advantage in debates.

Just now, he'd noticed that the Old Witch seemed to be hinting that she knew what had happened in the Viscount Ambrose.

Considering that the Old Witch had said her Beloved Disciple once accomplished something major in the Viscount Ambrose, perhaps it had something to do with her disciple.

Yveta was about to ask when he saw two ogres holding Branton. They stripped off his armor, then tied him to a giant tree.

One ogre started rubbing sticks together beneath Branton to make a fire.

The other had gathered some wild red peppers, cilantro, and garlic and was sprinkling them over Branton as it muttered, "Can't eat him raw, hold on, can't eat him raw, hold on. Cooked meat tastes good, cooked meat has no parasites, cooked meat smells so good... Can't eat him raw, hold on..."

Branton shouted, "Help! Somebody, save me! Your Highness, are you there?"

Yveta was speechless.

You idiot. I told you not to go off on your own, and you didn't even get to fight before turning into an ogre's kebab.

I thought a Knight Attendant like you might be able to fight, but now I have to send people to protect you.

Yveta placed his left fingertips on the Gryare Eye Ring, turned it twice, and recited an incantation. In an instant, thunder filled the entire underground river cavern.

That was quite the spectacle!