“Is that right? You, do you know this orc?” the chief asked.

Maxenne felt embarrassed to have suddenly become the center of attention. He answered while bowing, “Y-yes. I do know him.”

“As expected, he really is Sir Kunderima’s messenger.”

“Chief, is there anything else to prove?” The elders were overjoyed when the hunter’s identity was confirmed.

However, the chief looked rather dissatisfied as he looked alternatingly between the hunter and Maxenne before asking, “Hmm. So you killed a gray wolf with the help of this man? Is that true?”

“Ah, that’s…” Maxenne flinched before meeting the hunter’s gaze.

‘Dammit…!’

Maxenne realized that he had dug himself into a hole when he saw the hunter slightly nodding. If he denied the hunter’s words, he would be questioned about how he caught the gray wolf. His lies would then be discovered, and he might be kicked out of the vanguard.

Even if they were simple and ignorant, Bayman Orcs valued a warrior’s pride above all else.

“That is correct. We were able to catch the gray wolf due to his guidance. He is a very capable orc who knows his way around the White Fang Mountain, oh, magnificent fang!” In the end, Maxenne was forced to cover up the truth to retain his position in the vanguard.

‘As expected, Sir red-eyes had a plan!’

The hunter was finally relieved. He had recalled Eugene’s order to sell out Maxenne if anyone from the Tolo family didn’t believe him.

“Hmm. I see. Good. Then go ahead,” the chief said, nodding.

“Yes. Sir Kunderima…” The hunter was fully armed with faith in Eugene’s gold coins and his words. He sold out Kunderima with confidence and without hesitation. All the Tolo orcs, including the chief, had no choice but to take his words at face value.

***

“Roamers are gathering?” Eugene asked.

“That’s right. I think it must be because of the corpses of those orcs,” one of the beowulfs responded. They were giving their report after returning from scouting.

Eugene frowned. He had deliberately disposed of the body in an inaccessible place, but he had never imagined that it would actually cause problems.

“Hmm. Will the orcs avoid this place if there are a lot of monsters?” Eugene asked.

“I think so. It’s already a difficult mountain to cross, so they will have no choice but to avoid it if monsters are flocking to the mountain. I think we might need to take care of them. Do you want me to head over and get it done?” Galfredik asked.

Eugene started to nod. A few beowulf warriors and Galfredik would be more than sufficient to take care of some roamers. However, he stopped mid-way. “No, wait a minute.”

A thought crossed his mind, so Eugene stopped Galfredik and the beowulf warriors from standing up.

“Let’s leave them alone for now,” he said.

“Hmm? But even more of them are going to gather since there are so many bodies. It could get annoying real fast with both orcs and roamers to worry about,” Galfredik responded with a frown. Their plan was to lure the orcs of the Tolo family by sending the hunter. However, their plan was in danger of being disrupted if roamers gathered due to the corpses.

“Probably. And although there are only weaker ones now, the larger monsters will make their appearance later,” Eugene responded.

“Isn’t that even more of a problem? What if the orcs won’t come here?” Galfredik asked.

“I have a plan. For now, let’s go to the place where we dumped the bodies,” Eugene replied.

“Hmm.” Galfredik and the beowulfs stood from their seats despite their confusion.

“Hey, wizard.”

“Yes?”

Eugene called out just as he was about to leave the cabin, and Romari flinched before turning her head.

“Why aren’t you following?” Eugene asked.

“What? Me? Why?” Romari said.

“What do you mean why? Because there’s something for you to do. Come here quick,” Eugene responded.

“Yes…” The cold-hating wizard eventually put on a thick, fur robe before following along. Eugene’s group left the cabin and headed for the valley where they tossed the bodies. The snow was knee-deep, and the slope was close to a right angle. Moreover, the cliffs looked as if they could collapse at a moment’s notice. However, vampires and beowulfs possessed even greater physiques and senses than beasts. They climbed the mountain without much difficulty.

Whooooooosh!

Eugene stood at the edge of a cliff, and the ghastly cry of the wind echoed from all sides. He stared down at the valley located hundreds of meters below. The visibility was poor due to strong winds and snowstorms, but Eugene had no issues penetrating through the whiteness with his excellent vision.

“Sir. Can you see anything?” Mirian asked.

Eugene responded, “There are goblins, kobolds, harpies, and even trolls.”

“Kiehh? Are you saying all of them are gathered together?” Mirian asked.

“It must be because they are starving. Similar to how herbivores and carnivores gather around pools and drink water together when there’s a drought,” Romari answered.

As a wizard, Romari was quite knowledgeable, and Mirian was fascinated by her answer.

“Kieh! Well, I’ve seen similar things in my pond. Sometimes, this guy, that guy, dogs, cows, boys, and girls would come to drink water. Wow! Raccoon, you’re so shmmaart!” Mirian exclaimed.

“Hehe.” Romari grinned, although Eugene wasn’t sure why she was so happy receiving a compliment from a freeloading spirit.

She turned toward Eugene before speaking, “But that will only be for a short while. They’re content for now since there are so many bodies, but once more monsters gather, it’ll quickly turn into a mess. Monsters covet slaughter by nature, and sooner or later, it’ll show.”

“I suppose so. Besides, bigger monsters will be coming soon as well,” Eugene commented.

“Bigger ones? By that, do you mean…”

“There must be a master of the mountain, right? It would be weird if none of the monsters here played house. For example, an ogre,” Eugene said.

“…!” Eugene’s words startled everyone. However, he had a point. Even in a little forest, beasts, and monsters engaged in fierce competition. The snowy mountain, which served as Brantia’s northern border, would be no exception. Moreover, human presence was rare in the snowy mountains. Although the terrible weather would have forced even roamers to hide deep in the mountains, in normal times, it would literally be a paradise for roamers. An ogre, which could be called the king of all monsters, would definitely not leave such an oasis without a master.

“Wizard. Is it possible to control monsters at this distance?” Eugene asked.

“Maybe? Why are you asking? Controlling a few monsters won’t be useful, and it won’t work for a powerful monster like an ogre,” Romari responded.

“I’m not asking you to do it right now, and I’m not asking you to control an ogre either,” Eugene answered before observing the valley for a few more moments before turning around and speaking, “We’re going back. Take turns watching over this place. If anything happens, come report it right away. Don’t grill any meat.”

“Got it,” the beowulfs answered with an awkward smile, and Eugene proceeded to descend the cliff.

After a while, Eugene arrived at the forest where he had slaughtered Kunderima and his troops. Eugene turned to Galfredik. “Galfredik. Find a suitable place and hide. Once you see the hunter bringing Tolo’s army here, come to me immediately.”

Galfredik responded, “Well, I’ll do as I’m told, but the orcs have a good nose. I’m afraid they’ll discover me right away. Besides, they might have a real sorcerer if it’s their main army right?”

Eugene turned his gaze when Galfredik asked.

“W-What is it? Why are you looking at me?” Romari flinched and asked nervously as soon as she met Eugene’s gaze.

Eugene replied, “You stay here with Galferdik.”

“What? Me? Why?”

Eugene felt a strange sense of deja vu at Romari’s response. He spoke with a frown, “You’re quite chatty today. You know how to use magic to conceal your presence right? If the orcs appear suspicious, use your magic and stay hidden. Both of you. And when the orcs are passing by…”

“Ah…” The bags under Romari’s eyes appeared to grow even darker as Eugene continued explaining the plan. By the time he was done, she looked as if her soul had been taken out of her.

“Ahahahaha! I don’t know how long we will have to stay here, but let’s get hot and get along, Miss Romari!” Galfredik patted Romari’s shoulder with a grin

She backed away in horror while screeching, “G-get hot!? Get what hot? Hot? What do you mean by that?!” She trembled while clasping her robe tightly around her body.

Galfredik responded with confusion, “Huh? You don’t like being in the cold, do you? I’m just saying we should stay warm together. You know it gets extremely cold when the sun sets, right?”

“Ah… Phew! I thought you were…”

“We’ll keep warm by rubbing our bodies together.”

“Hiek?!” Romari jumped back, sliding backward on the snow. Galfredik burst into laughter upon seeing her reaction.

“Stop talking nonsense and make sure you do your job properly,” Eugene said, interrupting them.

“That’s right! Do your job properly!” Mirian chimed in.

“You stay here with them,” Eugene suddenly declared.

“Kieeee?! Why me?” Mirian squealed with panic.

Eugene responded, “You are the only one who can come and go without being seen by the orcs. You said it’s fine for you to be a few kilometers away from me now, right?”

“That’s true, but this shy little spirit would like to stay and share true love buried in your warm chest, sir,” Mirian spoke in a shy voice while fluttering her eyelashes.

The spirit’s abominable act led Eugene to act according to his instinct.

Thuck!

“Kiekk!”

He flicked the spirit toward Galfredik before jerking around coldly. Mirian exclaimed mournfully from Galfredik’s grasp, “Sir! Sirrrr!”

“Kehehe! Evil spirit, you’re going to spend a hot time with me, too,” Galfredik said with an insidious laugh.

“Kieh?!”

“Now! Let us overcome this cold with our hot companionship!” Galfredik declared.

“No, wait. Wait a minute!”

“Kieeeeh…”

The vassal grabbed the spirit and the wizard with a slick smile before slowly moving toward the foot of the mountain.

***

The main army of the Tolo family moved at high speeds, befitting their nickname of ‘Stormfang.’ In just three days, they arrived at Balmund, which could be called the entrance to the snowy mountain. Their group consisted of forty orc warriors and three hundred mercenaries. They gathered supplies from nearby villages and hamlets and wrapped themselves with thick, furry clothes and snowshoes before setting out first thing in the morning. Naturally, the hunter was the one leading the army.

‘Gold coins! Only gold coins…’

The hunter knew that he would be torn apart to shreds by angry warriors if anything went wrong. As such, he inwardly chanted for his sole grace and continued leading the burly warriors. After a couple of hours, the Tolo family’s army arrived near the site of Kunderima’s miserable death.

“Sniff, sniff! It smells like blood.”

“…!” The hunter stiffened at the comment of the warrior following right behind him. It was standard for orcs to place warriors with the best eyesight and nose at the front of their army. The one who recognized the smell of blood was an orc warrior capable of distinguishing types of monsters from the smell of their feces, and he seemed to have picked up on the remnants of the slaughter.

“It’s not just one or two types of blood either… Fangs, mixed-bloods… sniff!”

‘Is he for real?’

The hunter was proud of his sense of smell, as his work heavily relied on his senses. However, even he was at a loss faced with the orc warrior’s frightening sense of smell.

“I’m going to go report this to the chief. Wait here,” the orc warrior spoke.

“Ah, I understand,” the hunter responded.

“Got it. Hurry up… huh?” The orc warrior with the best eyesight suddenly frowned as his comrade turned around to leave.

“What is it? Do you see something?” his comrade asked.

“Over there. Halfway up the cliff. There’s something there,” the orc warrior responded.

“What is it?” his comrade asked.

“It’s big. It just moved! It’s…” The warrior with the excellent vision hesitated, then his eyes widened before shouting, “It’s a griffon! There’s a griffon!”

“Keuh?!” The dark green faces of the orc warriors turned crimson. Among flying monsters, griffons were known to enjoy all types of meat, especially horse meat. And although griffons weren’t fond of meat belonging to two-legged creatures, orcs were the sole exception. Orcs tasted quite similar to pigs for griffons.

“Kuweeeegh! I-It’s a griffon!” the orc warrior exclaimed after spotting the orcs’ natural enemy. Of course, he wasn’t afraid. It was all because orcs hated griffons because far more of their brethren had been killed by those flying creatures compared to other monsters, like trolls or ogres.

“What?! A griffon?” the chief shouted in shock.

“Chief! We must kill that devilish white beak immediately!”

“We must take revenge for the other fangs!”

Hatred aimed at the griffon immediately spread throughout the entire army. Amidst the intense anger etched into their very blood and soul, the orc warriors and mercenaries roared while waving their weapons. They looked as if they were ready to bolt up the mountain.

Kuwuoooooooo!!!

The Fears of the orc warriors bloomed like wildfire. Griffons were high-ranking monsters with excellent eyesight and senses befitting their status. They would naturally detect the hostility coming from these orcs.

But for some reason, the griffon continued flapping its wings near the middle of the snowy mountain. It didn’t run away, and it neither revealed any hostility nor was it preparing to attack.

The reason for the creature’s abnormal behavior was soon made evident.

Kuuuuuuuwuuuuuuughhhh~!!!

An overwhelming roar threatened to collapse the high peaks and the boulders of the mountains.

“…?!”

The orcs stiffened at the roar as a gray creature climbed onto a boulder while holding the griffon’s leg. The snow ogre, which was also known as the Yeti in the North, turned its red eyes to the invaders who dared to enter its territory.