Two days later, there was no movement inside the riverbed dragon lair; the gigantic white dragon within remained asleep, undisturbed by the gentle flow of the river.
Meanwhile, in the ice cliff territory, over three hundred northern ice spirits, following Garon's instructions before he left, stayed within their land peacefully. Some trained the white hounds and terror lizards, while others taught the newborns various skills, maintaining overall harmony.
However, in Garon's third territory, the ogre basin, things were less calm.
Uga Brokenbone, a massive ogre standing three and a half meters tall and resembling a small giant, was growing restless. Recently, he and four other dragon-veined ogres had gone hunting for medium or larger magical beasts for Garon but had found no suitable prey. The vast and expansive northern ice plains were naturally sparse in species, making magical creatures even rarer.
Bad luck could mean not encountering a single magical beast in a week.
Repeated unsuccessful hunts were causing Uga Brokenbone some worry. During this time, he had only managed to capture one creature. While Garon was a merciful lord in Uga's eyes, he knew well that Garon wouldn't keep a brood that couldn't handle even small tasks effectively.
To avoid being abandoned by their rapidly growing dragon lord, Uga decided to head further south, hoping to hunt enough magical creatures in one trip to satisfy Garon's demands.
To the south, magical creatures were somewhat more abundant.
"Ukham, Uno, Jarnal, you four come with me. We must capture enough prey to please our lord!" Uga rallied four of the ogre basin's dragon-veined ogres, hefting his blood-tinged black mace and striding out of the basin towards the south.
Five dragon-veined ogres, each at least three meters tall and muscular, exuded a menacing aura as they moved across the endless ice plains. Time passed, and they gradually ventured further from the ogre basin, heading south.
Along the way, they encountered several magical creatures, but unfortunately, the medium-sized beasts, possessing high perception, would quickly flee upon detecting the threatening presence of the ogres. The ogres, strong and ferocious but not particularly fast, could only watch as their prey escaped.
Creatures that survived in the harsh environment of the northern ice plains were exceptionally alert and nimble.
"Ah, if this continues, Uga will be abandoned by the lord..." Uga fretted, trudging through the sparse snowfall, keeping an eye out for suitable targets.
Unlike Uga, the other four dragon-veined ogres didn't share his concern, simply following along somewhat lazily, giving the impression they were just going through the motions. Most ogres were inherently lazy and unthinking; Uga, diligent and contemplative, was an anomaly among his kind.
Uga knew his kin's nature and had tried various methods to change them, but it was not easy to alter ingrained traits. He turned a blind eye to their lax attitude, hoping to gradually influence them over time.
As silver-like specks of snow fell from the sky, the group of ogres reached a glacier highland.
From the top of the highland, the view was expansive and the landscape vast, with cold winds slapping against the ogres' exposed skin.
Below was a gentle sloping side of the highland, extending into a plain in the distance.
The northern ice plains featured highlands, basins, hills, and valleys, but the most common were the vast, desolate white plains.
At this moment, however, the dragon-veined ogres were not in the mood to appreciate the bright, open scenery of the ice plains.
In their line of sight on the gentle slope ahead, two seemingly tender and tasty human children looked up in astonishment, silently staring back at them.
The boy and girl, both dressed in exquisite robes inscribed with mysterious runes, seemed well-protected against the icy winds of the northern ice plains by an invisible barrier emitted by their robes.
Additionally, they wore shiny ornaments on their wrists, necks, and fingers, which glowed softly, attracting surrounding elemental energy.
Most striking was the fiery red staff the boy carried. The staff, 1.3 meters long and covered in flame-like patterns, emitted heat waves. Its tip was set with a beautiful rhombus-shaped crystal, containing a liquid that churned like flames—a clear indication of its extraordinary nature.
After a brief pause, Uga's heart filled with excitement and joy.
He remembered every command Garon had given, especially the order to adorn the dragon lair with magical gems.
Uga, who had awakened spell-like abilities after his transformation, now recognized magical items and eyed the two human children with excitement.
"Thanks to the gifts of nature," Uga muttered in Giantish before roaring, "Catch them!"
He charged forward, leading the
way like a tank, with the other ogres bellowing and following suit.
"Run!" The boy, coming to his senses, turned pale and grabbed the girl to flee.
His instincts told him these bizarrely strong ogres were formidable opponents they couldn't overcome.
Their escape was swift, agile like snow monkeys that had survived in the northern ice plains, obviously enhanced by some spells.
"Roar, roar, you can't escape, delicious snacks! Don't run, I'm going to eat you," one of the dragon-veined ogres shouted gleefully, drooling.
In the minds of the ogres, humans were incredibly delicious.
Uga slapped the head of that ogre, scolding, "Such human snacks are meant for our lord, you fool! Keep your drool to yourself!"
Amos and Lilith, unable to understand Giantish but clearly seeing the malice in the ogres' faces, understood their intentions without needing words.
Minutes later, Amos and Lilith were surrounded by the dragon-veined ogres, their faces pale.
Around them, a bowl-shaped fire shield blocked the ogres' approach.
One curious ogre poked it and immediately yelped, holding his finger and blowing on it as his skin reddened and steamed.
The inheritance of the white dragon's bloodline meant that the dragon-veined ogres also had low resistance to fire, and the high-quality fiery red staff allowed even a small amount of magic to trigger an effective defensive spell.
Seeing this, Uga was even happier, realizing that both human children were young spellcasters.
The former two-headed ogre leader had a particular fondness for the flesh of spellcasters. Uga thought that if Garon saw the gifts he brought, he would surely be delighted.
With this in mind, Uga slowly raised his black mace.
His arm muscles bulged, the black mace wrapped in blood light, making Amos's scalp tingle.
"Hey, hey, little ones, you are now Uga's trophies!"
With a sinister laugh, Uga swung the mace down heavily.
Thud!
As Amos and Lilith watched in terror, the fire shield burst into sparks and cracked loudly.
After the first strike, a torrent of blows rained down on the fire shield, creating a dense web of cracks.
Soon, Amos's magical power was depleted, his face turning as pale as paper.