Death Camp

Most of the party remained in Giantwood Village, at the village’s only inn. In the company of Dragonmage Lina and the village chief, Richard headed towards the death training camp.

The Archeron death training camp was located deep in the forest with a total of seven different gathering points. The location closest to the village was at least a hundred kilometres away, without any trail to follow. Even with the village chief as a guide, the three of them took over three hours to arrive at the camp.

The ones being trained here were warriors and other classes who depended on physical strength. Passing a disorganised fence, Richard entered the camp. He saw several shabby huts within that made it seem like a small village, finding it difficult to believe that this was the famed death training camp of the Archerons. Only when the instructor here, Schiller, was stood in front of him did he confirm that he was at the right place.

Schiller was a man of average build, with short, grassy hair that was a complete mess. There was no magic armour on him, only a saber that was hung at his waist. The weapon’s scabbard was plain and dirty, but the man’s clothes were clean. Outside of that, there was nothing special in his appearance.

However, for some reason Richard felt like he was being pricked by a needle as he looked at the man standing before him, even having to squint his eyes a little. His eyes soured very quickly, almost tearing up. Just as the tears were about to flow, a gentle magic enveloped his entire body and soothed that needle-like sensation.

Lina chided Schiller in an icy voice, “Schiller, what are you trying to do? Are you tired of living?”

Schiller smiled like nothing had happened and his expression was relaxed. He spoke in a casual manner, “Nothing much. I just wanted to see what the young master who’s about to take away my best warrior is like. Young master Richard has a great appearance.”

Lina snorted icily a couple of times, “What does the Young Master’s strength have to do with you? Do you really think that this death training camp belongs to you? You’re just this place’s manager. Have you been here so long that your brain rotted away?” Her rebuke was harsh and direct, not giving the man any face.

A black aura coiled around Schiller’s face. Although he maintained his smile, it seemed like the calm before the storm. “This is Earl Goliath’s land. And Lina, I don’t recall you being my match.”

There was an extremely explosive atmosphere in the air. Richard watched the two bicker on with an indifferent expression, but an almost undetectable light started to glow under his robes. He’d prepared a curse already, but he wasn’t sure how useful it would be in a battle between the two.

Suddenly, Lina chuckled coquettishly. “I am just a mage, how could I be a match for a shadow guard like yourself? Why don’t I change places with someone else? Who do you want? You definitely wouldn’t dare fight Mordred, so how about Byfang or Asiris? Or the two tanks, Kaylen and Kayde? Maybe you want all of us to come at you together…”

Schiller snorted, and his expression turned even darker. He had wanted to say more, but eventually decided to suppress it. Gaton’s thirteen knights were not the strongest individually, but they were extremely united when facing an enemy. Even if more than half of Gaton’s rune knights were not Schiller’s match, any two of them would be able to beat him up easily.

Lina’s haughtiness had yet another meaning contained within. Many of the thirteen knights were generals who were able to lead the troops, and their status was different from Schiller. She had no need to fight the shadow guard one on one to know who was better.

Lina suddenly withdrew all of her arrogance, and said solemnly, “Schiller, I’m telling you this because of Earl Goliath; I sincerely urge you to stop all your tricks. Every important Archeron outside of Marquess Sauron has agreed about Young Master Richard. If you delay his plans, the first one to come for your throat will likely be Earl Goliath himself.”

Schiller’s eyes flashed as he stared intently at Lina. The Dragonmage was calm and collected, however, looking him straight in the eye. He eventually had to turn his head and look at Richard, before speaking in a deep voice, “Alright then, young master Richard, please follow me. I hope you will be able to find a suitable candidate.

“Let me first give you a tour of our small camp, for you to better understand the environment our brave warriors have been living in.”

Richard walked into the largest hut under Schiller’s guidance, frowning immediately at the sharp smell that assaulted his nostrils. The hut was big, but with thirty people crammed into there was very little free space. There was no bed in the room, only mattresses laid onto the floor spread apart to allow one to walk through the middle. Several large brutes, stark naked, were laid on the floor in a disorganised manner. Their barbaric, unruly aura could not be concealed.

Inside the wooden hut, several brutes were wildly fucking a woman. The woman was just as muscled as them, and seemed to be a participant of the camp. However, she wasn’t strong enough to avoid being a toy of these savages. Another woman was wrestling a large man in a contained space. The result of a loss went without saying.

Seeing Richard and company walk in, especially the voluptuous Lina, the brutes lying on the ground stood up immediately, their eyes blazing with fervent passion.

Lina did not get angry. She instead pouted her lips, sending them a flying kiss. This was adding fuel to the fire, and the clamouring noises grew much louder as more than half the people here had already stood up. However, while their eyes were spewing flames, their bodies remained clenched and on standby. No matter what, these two coming here at this time was extremely bizarre.

Once Schiller entered as well, all of them turned solemn. Those men with killing intent retreated as well.

Richard stood unmoving by the door, and his gaze swept past the room. He suddenly spoke, “There’s no need to look any longer.” Before even waiting for Lina or Schiller to reply, he turned around and walked out.

After exiting the hut, Richard walked to the centre of the campgrounds and looked up at the night sky, not saying a thing. There was indeed no need to look any longer. These brutes in the hut were level 7 or 8 warriors. Furthermore, in such an environment, he did not discover any extraordinary talent. Even just taking them to another plane would be a waste of resources, forget using a soul contract on them.

The fifth moon hung in the night sky, its light purplish moonlight representing Alucia’s divine wrath.

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