Let Him Handle It (Part 2)

"I have no objection to Doge doing his part, but we cannot sacrifice him!" Dean said, shaking his head.

"Only by fully analyzing this Lich will we have a chance to break this stalemate... no, this is no longer a stalemate. It is a massacre. A giant with level-four strength is slaughtering the adventurers!" Silianth said calmly. In truth, the veins faintly bulging in his cheeks showed that his patience had already reached its limit.

Silianth looked at his student, hoping he could help persuade Dean. Their time was limited, after all. In another few minutes, not a single adventurer surrounding the giant might return alive.

Yet Lamore remained silent. He did not want Dean to change his mind because of him. Lamore could not judge with certainty which side was right and which was wrong; what he considered justice was not necessarily justice.

Sanderson said nothing either. He trusted his student to do what he believed was right. He did not want to interfere with Dean's thinking, nor was he willing to.

Dean also knew how terrifying level-four strength was. Even with nothing but physical power, the giant had fought more than a dozen adventurers, several of whom had reached level three. Yet after being surrounded and attacked for nearly half an hour, it still had not suffered much damage.

"We have no time left!" Silianth spoke again, but this single sentence carried more weight than his earlier lengthy speech.

Thud! A burly man holding a shield was sent flying toward them by the giant from a thousand meters away. Half the shield in his hand had shattered, and the man had already lost consciousness. Lamore hurried forward to cast a Healing Technique!

Dean's heart trembled. He vaguely remembered this man. Though they had never spoken, Dean knew he was a well-known, good-hearted veteran of the Adventurers' Guild, someone who often bore the fiercest, most terrifying, and most unbearable attacks for his team.

"Is he all right?" Silianth went over to check as well. Lamore was only level one, so his healing fell short when treating this level-two adventurer. He could barely stop the bleeding.

"He's all right for now, but he needs a Priest of level two or higher for the treatment to do any good," Lamore said, shaking his head.

Just then, a level-two Priest hurried over and took over from Lamore's Healing Technique in time.

"Honored master, I am more valuable alive than dead. The same holds true for my former mentor," Doge suddenly said. Perhaps because he had spoken more, his voice was no longer quite so hoarse.

"Go on!" Dean hurriedly asked Doge to explain. Of course, this was also so everyone else could understand.

At Dean's words, everyone turned their attention toward them, Silianth included. If there was a better solution, Silianth did not want to do anything that harmed someone else's interests either.

"My mentor took possession of the giant's body with his own soul as its core, so we only need to retrieve his soul to solve the problem." As he spoke, Doge raised the Goblin Scepter. "Use this to collect my mentor's soul. I can guarantee it will succeed!"

Of course, a guarantee from Doge, an undead Lich, was utterly worthless—not even worth a fart. But with Dean standing behind Doge now, that guarantee carried some weight.

"I have a request!" After finishing, Doge turned to face Dean. Dean did not know whether he was imagining it, but something seemed to have moistened the Lich's eyes.

"Could you entrust my mentor's soul to me?" Doge lowered his head. This was the first time he had bowed his head; even earlier, upon hearing that he was going to be dismantled, he had not done so.

"This scepter is the tomb for the souls of successive Goblin Shamans, isn't it?" Sanderson asked Doge. Many tribes possessed such things, gathering the souls of generations of shamans within a single vessel and continually refining them into a treasure unique to their people!

Doge nodded. Even though he had now been reincarnated as an undead Lich and no longer had any connection to the little Goblin he had once been, with a vastly different temperament and aptitude, he still hoped his mentor's soul could return to the Goblin Scepter.

"Of course! That is no great matter. As long as we can deal with the giant, everything else is negotiable." Silianth also breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing could be better than making things this simple, and it would avoid a clash between them as well.

Sanderson in particular was Blue Town's foremost sage. If they forced Dean to hand over the Lich Doge, Sanderson would not voice any objection for Blue Town's sake, but a knot would always remain in his heart.

Moreover, his student Lamore's four-person team might also face disbandment for various reasons in the near future.

Being able to retrieve his former mentor's soul was unquestionably wonderful news for Doge. Without saying anything in thanks, he bowed deeply to everyone.

"Did I just hear some good news?" Rukta had not yet left, and these few short minutes had brought him an unexpected piece of good news. His hands tightened around his two axes with renewed strength.

"Little Lich, tell me if you need anything. As your master's mentor, I will do everything in my power to help you!" Sanderson said with a smile. He could also see that this Lich had considerable potential and would surely grow into an extremely powerful Lich servant.

Doge nodded and said, "I need nothing else. This Goblin Scepter alone is enough!" He tightened his grip on the scepter.

Before long, everyone arrived near the giant. It seemed to be resting, standing still with both arms hanging down to the ground. In the surrounding air, the flow of elements had become intensely active. It was obvious that the old shaman was using the giant's body to replenish his mana rapidly.

The adventurers also enjoyed a rare chance to stop and rest. When fighting the giant, every defensive move consumed more strength than usual; otherwise, a single slap would send them flying.

Doge slowly approached the giant, and the old shaman inside noticed his presence. For a moment, however, the old shaman froze. Doge had changed so much that he did not recognize him.

No, it was not that he failed to recognize him, but that he could not believe it.

Gaga-gaga!! Gaga!!

Doge spoke to the old shaman in the Goblin Language. The giant, which had still been standing upright, suddenly dropped to its knees. Its enormous hands trembled as they reached out to touch Doge.

Yet just as those hands drew near Doge, they stopped, trembling!

"Mentor, I feel like a sinner as far as the old shaman and Doge are concerned!" Dean said as he watched, a tremor of emotion welling up in his heart.

"You simply stand on different sides. Everyone has their own choices to make, and even putting yourself in someone else's shoes does not necessarily mean you can understand them. So what makes you a sinner in your own eyes was the right choice from the adventurers' perspective," Sanderson said, stroking Dean's little head with his large hand.

(End of chapter)