‘I think I greatly underestimated Baronar’s strength,’ Lux mused. ‘Making him our ally made this entire expedition so much easier.’
Before they set out to their next target, the Orc Shaman advised that they should deal with Tanabur first before targeting the other Orc Warlords.
There were two reasons why Baronar told them to target Tanabur first before the others.
First, Baronar and Tanabur didn’t get along well with each other. However, that was not the main reason why the former insisted that the latter Orc Warlord should be attacked first. It was because Tanabur commanded the Orcs’ Warg Cavalry.
Wargs were Demonic Wolves that Orcs usually used as mounts. They were fast, strong, and very agile creatures that would not hesitate to attack bigger enemies. They were especially more fearless when they traveled in packs.
Tanabur could easily send his reinforcements to the other Warlords if they were under attack. Baronar was sure that his rival could’ve helped him. It was just that the latter chose to turn a blind eye on the battle horns that had sounded as a signal to ask for assistance when their camp was being targeted by Lux and Barca.
“As long as he is taken out, you won’t have to fight a two-versus-two battle against the other Orc Warlords,” Baronar explained. “Once he is taken down, you can choose any other warlord you like without worrying about getting attacked from the rear.”
Lux and Barca found this suggestion very sound, so they immediately marched to the South to deal with the Orc Warlord Tanabur.
Using Eiko to infiltrate their camp to drug their well water with a deadly colorless poison that Baronar had concocted, the Wargs, as well as the Orcs who mounted them, fell asleep and the attack on the Southern Camp went off without a hitch.
Tanabur lay on the ground panting for breath, while Barca’s greatsword was positioned just an inch away from his neck.
“Baronar, you filthy traitor!” Tanabur shouted in anger. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted!”
Tanabur gnashed his teeth in anger as he glared at the Orc Shaman, completely ignoring the blade that could cut his neck at any moment.
“All of this is due to your stupidity, Tanabur,” Baronar sneered. “I bet you were laughing when you commanded your subordinates to not send reinforcements to my camp. This is just the consequences of your shortsightedness!”
“Bah! Shut up you weakling bone collector!”
“At least I’m not an Orc who screws his Warg because women won’t look at him!”
“Bastard! Fight me!”
“Hah! Come! Who’s scared of who?!”
Matty had covered Colette’s ears so that she wouldn’t hear the foul languages that the two Orc Warlords were spouting in front of them.
Lux did the same to Helen because the two Orc Warlords had now started to call each other “Warg P*ssy” and “Dead F*cker”.
It was at this moment when the Half-Elf realized that after unlocking the Hidden Quest, the settings of the dungeon had changed. Instead of a regular dungeon run, where they just killed monsters until they reached the Boss Monster, the dungeon had activated its “Story Mode”.
It was like they were re-enacting events that had happened long ago, while giving the Dungeon’s challenger free reign to decide how the story would end.
“Should we kill him?” Barca shifted his gaze on Lux. “It’s your call.”
As soon as the Half-Orc said these words, a series of notifications appeared in front of Lux.
—–
< Tanabur’s Fate>
Barca doesn’t know if he should spare the Orc Raider, Tanabur, or not. He wants you to decide the Orc Warlord’s Fate.
– Option 1
Kill Tanabur.
Reward: Receive one random Pseudo-Mythical Equipment that belongs to him.
– Option 2
Spare Tanabur.
Reward: Receive twenty five Wargs as compensation.
These wargs can be used as battle mounts and all of them are Rank 2 Monsters.
– Option 3
You can negotiate your terms. The success of the negotiation will depend on your Charisma stat.
——
‘Mounts?’ Lux’s eyes widened in shock when he read the reward for sparing Tanabur. ‘Are you freaking serious? Twenty five Rank 2 Monsters as mounts?!’
The red-headed teenager’s jaw almost dropped after seeing the second option. Only fools would pass up such an opportunity. Because of this option, the Half-Elf decided that he would choose a Rider Class upgrade for his Skeleton Fighters once the opportunity appeared.
“Spare him,” Lux said with a serious expression. “But, I’ll take twenty five of his Wargs as my reward.”
Barca nodded his head. “This is acceptable. Very well, you may take twenty five Wargs from his Bestiary. You are free to choose which one you take in as your own.”
Lux smiled as he happily looked at the rewards that he received upon the Side Mission’s Completion.
—–
Quest: Tanabur’s Fate (Completed!)
< Rewards >
Twenty Five Elite Wargs
< Bonus Reward >
Tanabur has become your ally!
+500 Blackrock Reputation Points
—-
Colette, Matty, and the other Dwarves who were just listening to the conversation to the side looked at Lux with envy. The Wargs were at least two-meters tall, and looked very intimidating. Although they didn’t want to admit it, the thought of riding one had crossed their minds after seeing them in action.
“You heard him,” Lux chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “All of you pick a Warg for yourself. From now on, they will be your personal mounts.”
“Eh?” Colette blinked as she pointed her finger to her face. “Ours?”
“You don’t want to?” Lux asked in a teasing tone.
“I want!”
“Then choose one. Helen, Andy, Axel, and Simp get to choose as well.”
“Oi! Who are you calling Simp?!” Matty flared up as he raised his hand menacingly.
“Simp!” Eiko giggled. “Simp! Simp!”
The baby Slime had developed a tendency to tease Matty after seeing her Papa always do it. For her, whatever Lux did was right, so she copied her Papa as if he was the only role model for her.
“Tch!” Matty could only click his tongue as he walked towards the Wargs that were now slowly regaining their consciousness from the sleeping drug that had been given to them earlier.
Since the quest rewards had been activated, none of them attacked the children. They even allowed the little Dwarves to touch them all over, as they decided whether or not they were good enough to become their mounts.
There were over three hundred Wargs in the camp, so Lux cheated and checked the Elysium Compendium to automatically choose the top twenty Wargs from among the rest.
Lux was surprised when he found out that there was one Rank 3 Warg among the rest. It was a Black Warg with a scar above its right eye, a feature that made it stand out from the others.
The Half-Elf looked at the Warg, and the latter looked back at him. Its predatory eyes observed the red-headed teenager in front of him, but made no move to attack.
“I’ll make you my own mount,” Lux said as he looked at the Warg with a serious expression.
Sensing that it had been chosen by the Half-Elf in front of it. The Warg lowered its head and allowed Lux to touch its forehead.
The moment Lux’s hand rested on the Warg’s head, a notification appeared in front of him.
—–
Would you like this Elite Warg to become your mount?
< Yes / No >
—–
Lux clicked yes and a new notification appeared in front of him.
—–
Would you like to give this Elite Warg a name?
< Yes / No >
—-
Lux pondered for a bit before saying the name that came to his mind. The latest_ep_sodes are on_the Novlꜰre.nt
“Jed,” Lux said. “That will be your name from now on.”
The Warg turned into particles of light and flew towards Lux’s Soul Book.
What Eriol didn’t tell Lux was that the Soul Book held a miniature world of that person’s soul. One could call it a spiritual world, where the creatures that served them could stay, while they weren’t active in the real world.
This was where Beast Tamers like Iris stored their Beast Companions whenever they weren’t present in the real world.
Colette and the others had also finished choosing their mounts, and just like what happened with Lux, they also turned into particles of light and flew into their Soul Books. They could be summoned any time their Master wished, and serve as their mount for as long as they needed to be.
Naturally, these mounts also feel thirst and hunger, so having many Mounts, or Beast Companions required that you feed them on a regular basis, or else their loyalty would decrease and they would leave you the next opportunity they got.
Lux summoned Jed once again and attempted to ride on his back. He had ridden on Sophie’s back many times before, but the White Hippo was a gentle beast. She would not move very fast to ensure that the Half-Elf didn’t fall off her back.
Now that Lux had his own mount, he wanted to get used to riding it, so that he could also fight battles while mounted if the situation called for it.
Colette and her friends had the same idea, so they also summoned their beasts to try and mount them. However, since the wargs were taller than the Dwarves, they had to order them to lie down on the ground so that they could ride on their backs.
Barca and Baronar also chose a mount for themselves as they prepared to head to their next destination.
Now that two of the Four Warlords had been subjugated, only two remained. Their next destination was the Orc Warlord, Morgazar. He was an Exceptional Orc Hunter that ruled the East, and was known for raising an elite army of Orc Archers who specialized in range combat.
Lux glanced at Barca who was currently riding at the head of their formation. He didn’t know if this Hidden Story Quest was something that had happened in the real world or not.
If it did, the Half-Elf wondered if Barca originally spared or killed the Orc Warlords that were serving Orobak.
‘I guess, I’ll never know,’ Lux thought as he followed behind the Half-Orc whose wish was to form his own Orc Dominion.