"Well, that was easy," Warden sighed as he withdrew the blade. The deceased figure of the orc lord still wore a dumbfounded expression as his corpse joined his four compatriots.
[Higher grade essence harvested.]
[+1.2 Strength.]
[+1.5 Spirit.]
Warden's attention turned to his celestial wings, or rather the [Wings of Radiance]. True to its name, it exuded pure brilliance. They might not be real wings, but they were one hundred percent awesome. Warden hadn't even taken flight yet, but he could already tell.
Man, he could not wait to fly... Unfortunately, that would have to wait. When his cloak and armour transformed into the [Wings of Radiance], it caused quite a spectacle with sparkling light glowing luminously. Well, he was still glowing, and it had attracted another group of forsaken.
Fortunately, they were only goblins. Orcs were more difficult to kill, and they didn't carry anything of value. However, goblins were a weaker and more resourceful bunch. Warden had appropriated a great deal of their bombs and raw materials, but the most desirable of all was actually a skill crystal. Of course, the skill was nothing too enticing for him, but he could sell it in the emporium.
It was already good fortune to get something of such value out of the first layer.
Warden retracted his celestial wings. It was consuming a lot of his light energy. Considering the sheer mobility and fluidity it enabled him, he believed it would be worth it. It was just that his radiance power was weak. So for now, he had to rely more on Anti-gravity scripts.
I need to find some time to use the rest of the quintessence, Warden thought. Unfortunately, given his tight schedule, it appeared almost impossible. Not until he entered the second layer. There were just too many things he needed to do, so it wouldn't just be a slaughter against the forsaken.
"The purple-eyed fiend!" screamed a goblin as it locked eyes with Warden. "It's the purple-eyed fiend, run!"
"But chief, he was glowing white and gold a moment ago," argued another.
This was already the fifth group of goblins Warden had encountered since he began it all a few hours ago. He could have left the job of dealing with the smaller groups of forsaken to others, but they would just take more time, and some of them might even get seriously wounded.
While the goblin bombs were nothing fanciful to the eyes of a master runesmith, they could do serious damage to iron rankers in close proximity.
Besides, Warden needed to induce some fear and anger into the minds of the forsaken for his plan to work. A team doing the same work as his would not have the same effect.
That was why he left the lone goblin alive. It would carry the message of the deeds of the Purple Fiend back to their camp. They surely would be ecstatic to hear about him.
After cleaning up, Warden dealt with a couple more groups of orcs and goblins before he returned to their camp. It had been over six hours since he left after giving some instructions to Lady Cassandra—she probably had half the men from Tayl's camp under her command by now.
Obviously for nothing too explicit, but they would listen to her as long as her words carried reasons and didn't threaten their lives.
Most of the camp lay in silence, though the first thing Warden noticed was Tayl thrashing four guys with his spear. It might appear as abusive behaviour to an outsider's eye, but it was only a bit more intense than sparring. At least the noble son wasn't all talk.
Still, Warden wanted to avoid conversation with the guy. Also, he hadn't made the same mistake of going through the same entrance as before upon entering the camp. The guards would have probably mistaken him again. Instead, he had his stealth activated and landed directly in a more tranquil part of the camp, nearby to Lady Cassandra's tent.
Warden deactivated his stealth and made sure to adjust his cloak to take on a more ordinary appearance.
Then he walked into the tent of the girl in the middle of the night.
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Mass Release 2/5