Chapter 597: Chapter 597 Nightmare Zone
Li Yao had devised a chain of plans, not too sophisticated, but more than enough to deal with these somewhat dim-witted Ogres.
Normally, the Ogres’ defenses wouldn’t have been this lax, but the matter with the Devil Tyrannosaurus had left their defense relatively thin.
Next, Li Yao located the position of the language totem he wanted to learn and lured out some of the Ogres.
Then he sneaked into the granaries, setting fire to the Ogre’s stored food but not entirely, leaving them with the hope of salvaging their supplies.
However, the real kicker was the explosives that he’d already planted. Li Yao was a master of engineering in his previous life, so he was quite familiar with such things. Crafting an explosive device was child’s play for him.
It’s just that he found it too tedious to make one himself since an arrow would be enough to set it off.
Li Yao’s scheme had not only succeeded but exceeded his expectations. His original plan wasn’t to kill these Ogres but to trap some of them instead.
With a granary that big, there was certain to be enough space for survival after a collapse. Li Yao intended to trap some Ogres and get more of them involved in rescue efforts.
Even though Ogres were known for their strength, they still had a hard time lifting rocks to rescue those trapped.
However, to Li Yao’s surprise, an Ogre leader ended up trapped inside.
This turn of events was perfect. This part of the city was now in chaos.
Even if Ogres were not the brightest, they had realized there were intruders.
Many were now frantically searching nearby buildings. A significant force had been deployed to guard the granaries, preventing any further incidents.
In short, the southeastern corner of the city had virtually paralyzed, and everywhere else was on high alert. The explosion was too loud and could be heard throughout the city. The Ogre buildings were enormous, and so was the scale of the city. Even the Ogre chieftain had been alarmed.
Li Yao had no intention to combat the chieftain as he didn’t have much confidence in facing this insane boss one-on-one. He was strong now, but not at that level. And the city center’s Ogres were at much more than just level twenty.
With the current unrest, Li Yao appeared in the shadow of a massive cage and whispered, “Don’t make a scene. I’m here to rescue you from the Northern Outpost.”
The person confined in the cage was a middle-aged man who at first looked elated and hopeful at the sight of Li Yao. But seeing Li Yao was alone, his hope faded.
“Young man, I appreciate your kindness, but you can’t save me. You should leave as soon as possible.”
Li Yao simply handed him a scroll and said, “I don’t need to escort you out. Tear open this scroll, and you will be fine. However, I would like some useful information. I’ve heard the Ogres have captured you all for a ritual?”
The middle-aged man, gripping the scroll tight with trembling hands, took a moment to compose himself. He carefully glanced around, ensuring no Ogres were present before whispering, “Yes, supposedly they plan to worship some sort of Nightmare God. You know, Ogres generally consider every living thing delicious food, but this time, they didn’t kill us. They even provided us with food and drinks. Aside from confinement, there has been no mistreatment. It’s absolutely unbelievable.”
Ogres are naturally brutal and take great pleasure in torturing their captives. Every mealtime, they would let food loose, engage in fights and torture, and finally cook their catch joyfully.
Of course, Li Yao was well aware of Ogre customs. In his past life, many players had been captured and eaten by Ogres, which had resulted in a deep-seated fear of Ogres among players.
The idea of being captured by an alien tribe and slaughtered like a pig wasn’t exactly comforting.
Consequently, Ogres gained a reputation as one of the top ten Warcrafts players least wanted to mess with, the only one that earned its status not for its power but for its sadistic tendencies.
After all, being slain by powerful creatures was one thing, but being kept alive to become food was a spine-chilling thought. Countless players were left traumatized by this experience, deterring many from leveling up in the Ogre’s territory.
However, Li Yao wasn’t interested in Ogre’s dark cuisine; he wanted to know, “Do you know the exact timing of the ritual?”
“You really asked the right person. I know a bit of the Ogre language. According to the guards, it appears to be held in three days. They are supposed to use our fresh flesh to cultivate some divine artifact and offer our souls to the Nightmare God to induce its brief descent here.” Fear glanced in the middle-aged man’s eyes as he envisaged the terrible god descending into the world.
“Thanks a lot, sir. I understand now. You should leave and tell the Centurion that within three days, I will take all the people away and prevent the Evil God Ritual. And, importantly, don’t send any more soldiers—they won’t be able to handle the Ogres here.” After finishing, Li Yao immediately went into stealth.
After questioning several prisoners, Li Yao concluded that the situation was more or less the same.
“Three days, quite tight, but it should be enough.”
Li Yao first approached the totem, and then he received a system prompt.
“System: You have discovered a totem that Ogres use for enlightenment and worship. A mysterious aura has affected you, causing you to go into a deep meditation.”
“System: Your mind has absorbed some information. It seems this is a divine gift for juvenile Ogres from the worshipping totem, which bestows them language abilities. You have learnt the Ogre Language.”
Li Yao sat by the totem for a long while, finally digesting all the information.
Li Yao hid in a building’s shadow, listening to two Ogres talking. Their language was obscure, but at least he understood what they were saying.
Li Yao was very pleased. He’d learned the language and took advantage of the chaos to find more cages and toss the scrolls to the prisoners.
As nightfall descended, Ogres gradually realized the situation due to the increasing number of prisoners Li Yao was saving, and the chaos within their ranks subdued.
After Li Yao had rescued over a hundred people, the Ogres fully realized Li Yao’s intentions, securing each cage in response.
Li Yao, exhausted from the continuous stealth, decided to eat something in a hidden corner of a roof and make the most of the night cover.
However, as the night grew completely dark, Li Yao’s relaxed expression finally changed. He looked up to see an invisible dark-grey glow shrouding the city, and a gigantic eye made of dark elemental energy slowly forming above.
The sight made Li Yao’s hairs stand on end as if being watched by a giant dragon.
“Not good. This is the Nightmare Zone. I’ve got careless now.” Li Yao abandoned his food.
“Hear the divine decree. The troublemaker is here. Search carefully for him or forget about getting any bone to chew tonight.”